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PARIS IN '48 




/darcyjie/d Ujorvde 



Circa /S'yO. 



PARIS IN '48 

LETTERS FROM A RESI- 
DENT DESCRIBING THE 
EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION 

BY BARONESS BONDE {nee ROBINSON) 

• > 

EDITED BY C. E. WARR 



WITH A PORTRAIT 



NEW YORK 
JAMES POTT & CO. 

LONDON : JOHN MURRAY 
1903 



30^' 




PRINTED BY 

WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, 

LONDON AND BECCLES. 



Gift . . 

6 29S'C^ 



3" 





i PREFACE. 



A 



In 1900 my friend, the late Baroness Bonde, entrusted 
to me the pleasant task of editing her letters, and at 
the end of the same year she died. This little volume 
thus becomes a memorial of one of the accomplished 
and charming women of the last century. The letters, 
which were written in Paris during the time of the 
Revolution of 1848 which she witnessed from day 
to day, are doubly interesting from her intimate 
acquaintance with the diplomatic circle, and her power 
of fresh and vivid description combined with shrewd 
appreciation of character. The notes which I have 
appended are designed to furnish historical details 
sufficient to explain her allusions to the men and the 
incidents of the time, and I have added a short con- 
nected sketch of the events which preceded and led 
up to the political crisis. Where subsequent history 
has thrown more light on some of the leading actors, 
I have indicated the fact, and here and there I have 

«3 



vi PREFACE. 

substituted English for the French phraseology which 
the writer borrowed from her associations, along with 
much of the lightness and verve of the French style. 

Here is the short autobiographical sketch which 
Madame Bonde gave me : — 

" The following letters, written more than fifty years 
ago, were never intended for publication, as will easily 
be seen by any one who may be tempted to read them. 
They were a daily almost hourly correspondence with 
my friend Mrs. Ashburnham, whose husband was 
officially employed in London. They had lived for 
some years in Paris, and both had been much in French 
society and took the deepest interest in that most 
extraordinary revolution. 

" In those days, when electricity was in its infancy, 
when mails were stopped and letters opened, news- 
paper correspondents were often unable to convey 
intelligence, but I had a constant opportunity of send- 
ing my letters direct by private hand to Mr. and 
Mrs. Ashburnham, and they were eagerly devoured 
by them and their friends. The Duke of Wellington 
and Lord Palmerston were said to have clamoured 
for them, as did also many others, so that Mrs. 
Ashburnham had them copied as she feared they 
would be worn out, and she thought they ought to 
be kept in the family. 

" I had many requests to allow them to be published. 



PREFACE. vii 

but they were too personal, and would have required 
more weeding than I then had time for ; but now, 
after the lapse of half a century they can no longer 
give offence, and a very dear friend has offered to 
take the matter in hand. 

" It may interest some to know how I happened 
as an Irishwoman to be so much in France, and how 
I was intimately acquainted with so many celebrities 
and men in office of that day, so I shall add a very 
brief biographical sketch. 

" My father Sir Richard Robinson of Rokeby in 
Ireland, with my mother a daughter of Lord Mount- 
cashel, settled in Paris in 1819, and for more than 
thirty years it was our real home, varied by a few, 
very few, trips to England. The first revolutionary 
epoch in my life was when the Bourbons made way 
for the Orleanists under Louis Philippe, and I saw the 
barricades of July, 1830, when, returning from the 
country with my father, we assisted at the storming 
of the barracks of the Rue de la Pepiniere and when, 
after seeing two men shot, I was dragged into a 
porter's lodge, with the exclamation : *// ny a pas de 
bon sens de laisser un enfant dans la rue sous un feu 
croise.' The fact was that all communications were 
cut off, and my father had been so anxious for my 
mother and the younger children, that he returned 
to Paris and, not knowing what to do with me, took 
me with him, on my promising not to cry — a promise 
that I need not say I faithfully fulfilled ; and I fancy 



viii PREFACE. 

my taste for tumultuous times dates from this period, 
when I received * le bapt^me du feu.' 

"After this, my mother's salon became very Orleanist, 
though we still saw many relics of the past. I remember, 
among others, going to see * le beau Dillon ' in his dotage, 
and M. de Vaudreuil much in the same state ; their 
wives were much younger, and gave graphic accounts 
of the Court of Marie Antoinette where their hus- 
bands were the Queen's favourites. I also saw the 
Princesse de Vaudremont, of the House of Lorraine, 
who managed the escape of Lavalette, and heard both 
Count Lowenhielm and Lord Aboyne (afterwards 
Lord Hundy) relate how they had danced at 
Versailles with the unfortunate Queen. Among the 
salons I frequented in my youth was that of the 
Princesse de Chimay, the once famous Madame Tallien, 
then called * Notre dame de Thermidor.' Later 
on I became better acquainted with other celebrities ; 
— Prince Talleyrand, whom I remember playing at 
whist, while the young friends of his great-niece 
curtseyed to him as they passed through to the ball- 
room ; Count Pozzo di Borgo and Baron de VitroUes, 
who always boasted that they brought back the 
Bourbons. I once sat next Marshal Soult (the Due 
de Dalmatie) at a dinner given to him by the Duchesse 
Decazes on his return from the coronation in London. 
He was extremely disagreeable, and evidently thought 
me unworthy of the place I occupied, nor can I 
remember why I was there. Marshal Marmont (the 



PREFACE. ix 

Due de Raguse) whom I met in exile some years 
after, was a daily visitor at my house in Hamburg. 

"All the beauties of the Empire — Madame de 
Vicence, Madame Augeraud (became Madame de 
Ste. Aldegonde), and Madame de St. Jean d'Angely, 
— frequented our Tuesday evenings, where I also 
saw the three Sheridan beauties, the two Bulwers, 
Lord Brougham, Monckton Milnes, Lord Alvanley, 
the then Lord Granville and his most agreeable son. 
Cousin, Montalembert, the painter Gudin, and a 
number of others since become celebrated. Whilst 
for a short time in England and at the Miss Berrys', 
whose interesting conversation went back to the days 
of Walpole, I met Macaulay, Sydney Smith, old Lady 
Holland, and an agreeable Dr. Allen, whom she called 
*her Atheist.' I forget whether I took any part 
in the table talk, but I enjoyed it greatly and I shall 
never forget the great kindness shown to the young 
girl by these social stars. 

"After the 17th of August, 1848, Mrs. Ashburn- 
ham's departure to Constantinople and my own 
removal to Sweden necessarily slackened our corre- 
spondence, and my subsequent letters were not 
returned, but before I left Paris my last experience 
of revolutions was at the time of Louis Napoleon's 
coup d'etat. I then had husband and children, and 
was no longer allowed, nor even anxious, to visit more 
barricades or assist at more popular meetings. 

" My grandchildren and my great-grandchildren 



X PREFACE. 

now occupy most of my thoughts, to the exclusion of 
much that is interesting in public affairs of the day ; to 
them these letters have value as concerning very, 
very ancient history, bordering on the legendary ; to 
me, however, they are the realities of yesterday which, 
frofti my daily experience during a long life, has much 
in common with to-day and to-morrow. 

"FLORENCE BONDE, 

"Stockholm, 1900." 

I may add a little by way of supplement to this 
simple memoir. 

Madame Bonde's grandfather the Rev. John 
Friend took the name of Robinson on the death of 
his uncle Lord Rokeby, Archbishop of Armagh and 
Primate of Ireland, whose heir he became ; her father 
served in the Peninsular War. He married, in 
18 13, Lady Helena Moore, daughter of the Earl 
of Mountcashel and of Lady Margaret King. Their 
daughter was born at Florence on the i8th of 
October, 1817 ; her parents' residence was in Paris 
till 1843, and that city again was her mother's home 
from 1847, when her father died, till 1859. 

Baron Knut Bonde whom Miss Robinson married 
in 1849, belonged to an old Swedish family. He 
was an intimate friend of King Oscar L, and was 



PREFACE. xi 

employed by him in many private diplomatic missions, 
especially during the Crimean War. His influence 
assisted to maintain friendly relations between Eng- 
land and Sweden during the critical period from the 
beginning of 1854, when Sweden announced her 
neutrality. 

The Baroness herself was constantly at the palace 
as a confidential adviser, and she was likewise an 
influential correspondent of the Times and the Dibats. 
Her view at the time of her death remained that of 
fifty years ago, namely, that the best security for the 
country of her adoption is in England's strength : 
without it, as she wrote me in one of her last letters, 
" Russia would not hesitate to annex Norway and 
become a naval power." 

CONSTANCE E, WARR. 



PARIS IN '48. 



INTRODUCTION. 

" It is not with impunity that a nation learns such a 
lesson of blood and crime as that of '93. The virus 
must work in her for long after, ready to burst out at 
any time of disturbance." 

This comment of M. P. de Coubertin, in his lucid 
presentation of the course of events in France since 
1 8 14, may serve as a preface to Madame Bonde's 
graphic and searching description of the crisis in 1848. 
By way of introduction to her letters, it is sufficient to 
trace very briefly the steps by which the French nation, 
after sweeping away the * ancien regime,' began slowly 
to build up its civil and political liberties. 

France, up to 1789, had only the semblance of a 
constitution. The King's will was everywhere para- 
mount, there being no great Barons of the Realm, as in 
England, to hold him in check. France, as another 
writer observes,^ " has had nobles, but never an Aris- 
tocracy." "When some extraordinary tax was to be 

1 Andre Lebon, "France as it is," 1888. 



2 PARIS IN '48. 

levied, the King convoked the States-General, regarding 
which it was said " The nobles fight, the clergy pray, the 
rest pay." The Parliament or High Court of Justice 
was summoned to register royal edicts, and might refuse 
its assent ; but the edict was ratified notwithstanding, 
through the formalities of a * Lit de Justice,' or 
' Audience.' In the administrative sphere all the 
local representative bodies had been superseded by the 
Intendants, the King's officials, who (except in a few 
provinces) levied taxes and carried out the royal man- 
dates without the consent of the community, and 
without appeal. 

In 1789 Louis XVI. found himself obliged, for lack 
of funds, to convoke the States-General which had not 
met since 16 14. He was then disposed to go so far as 
to abolish the feudal dues and privileges of the nobility 
and clergy ; but the demand for the redress of such 
economic grievances went with, and of necessity en- 
tailed, the claim for political reform — in other words, for 
equality of civil rights, and a constitution which should 
enfranchise at least the higher bourgeoisie, removing the 
artificial distinction of the ' Third Estate,' and setting 
limits to the royal power. 

The Revolution of '93 having swept away with 
the Monarchy and the privileges in question the whole 
governmental organisation, France sought in vain in 
her past for any political tradition or precedent, and 
was driven from one constitutional experiment to 
another. After four years of contentions within and 
wars without, she welcomed a firm hand at the helm 
and submitted to Bonaparte, first as Consul, then as 
Emperor. His two successive Constitutions were 
abortive, so that in 18 14, though the civic equality 



INTRODUCTION. 3 

gained by the levelling of the Revolution remained, the 
necessary political readjustment was arrested. 

The charter granted by Louis XVIII. in 18 14 
created an Upper House of 140 life peers appointed by 
the King, and a Chamber of Deputies. Trial by jury, 
civil and religious freedom, and the liberty of the press 
were established, together with a moderate franchise, 
which made a bourgeois electorate of about 100,000, 
excluding all who paid less than 300 francs in direct 
taxes. But, although the motto of his minister, the 
Due Decazes, was " Royaliser la France et nationaliser 
la Royaute," the King, in his own belief, was such by 
Divine right, and he was swayed by the old nobility 
who were firmly bent on the restoration of their privi- 
leges. Within the Chamber the aristocratic Right was 
strongly entrenched and became aggressive under the 
influence of the King's brother, the Comte d'Artois 
(afterwards Charles X.), and the Society of the Congre- 
gation, which had been formed during the anti-Catholic 
tyranny of '93, and was now mainly a political propa- 
ganda. A federation of the Royalist * irreconciliables ' 
was directed from the Pavilion Marsan, the Count's 
residence, and the meeting-place of a private council 
which he held on his own authority as Colonel-General 
of the National Guard. Opposed to the * Ultras ' was 
a revolutionary Left, chiefly Bonapartist, and active 
within as well as outside the Chamber, its intrigues 
leading more than once to insurrections. Neverthe- 
less, the compromise on which the Government rested 
gave hopes of a true via media^ encouraging and 
encouraged by an intellectual revival, in which the 
* doctrinaire ' leaders of the moderate party in the Legis- 
lature were most conspicuous. Under the enlightened 



4 PARIS IN '48. 

guidance of Lamartine, Thiers, and Guizot, the Revo- 
lution began to justify itself in practice as in theory, 
and the reign of Louis XVIII. was a period of commer- 
cial prosperity ; the first Exhibition was held in Paris, 
and a general Council of Commerce and a free School 
of Arts and Crafts were founded. 

The retrograde policy was in the ascendant from 
1820, when the murder of the Due de Berry, the heir 
presumptive, was made an excuse for driving Decazes 
from office. The repressive measures which followed 
issued, after the accession of Charles X. in 1824, in a 
violent crusade against the press, which the talent of 
the ' doctrinaires ' had made an organ of liberal thought 
strong enough to combat the Catholic reaction, and 
support the new political principles against the theo- 
cratic ideal of De Maistre and Lamennais. The 
restoration of the old social order was threatened in 
restrictions of the franchise and a proposal to re-estab- 
lish the * droit d'ainesse ' (the entail of property on the 
eldest son). Hostile majorities in the Chamber brought 
the conflict to a climax, and the ' thorough ' ministry 
of Polignac, with the illegal ordinances of July, 1830, 
led to the downfall of the Elder Bourbon dynasty, and 
the succession of the Younger Branch in the person of 
the Due d'Orleans (Louis Philippe), son of Philippe 
the cousin of Louis XVI., who earned his sobriquet 
* Egalite ' by casting in his lot with the Revolutionists 

Louis Philippe, though he affected a certain bour- 
geois simplicity, yet insisted on ' legitimising ' his 
position among the hereditary sovereigns, and claimed 
for himself a personal authority or even autocracy, 
which was to be supported by ministers of his choice. 



INTRODUCTION. 5 

and secured from popular Interference by official control 
over the electorate. Guizot, his minister, was tenacious 
of his own office and distrustful of any concessions 
which might, by weakening the bureaucracy or enlarg- 
ing the electoral area, make personal government Imprac- 
ticable. He upheld for long the vicious system which 
made State officials eligible to the Chamber ; it contained 
in 1846 no less than two hundred such functionaries. 
His command of great majorities was used to stifle the 
Investigation of abuses, to resist every proposal of 
electoral reform, and ultimately to curtail the citizens' 
rights and liberties. A heavy hand laid on the press 
and the platform brought about an opposition which 
ended in catastrophe. " Reform to prevent revolution," 
was the watchword of this Opposition, and the agitation 
took the shape of Reform banquets, which were started 
to test the right of public meeting. No less than 
seventy took place In different towns during the latter 
half of 1847, and were attended by about 170,000 
guests. The crisis was reached the following year, 
when, in spite of Lamartlne's rally to the cause of 
liberty, Guizot carried an address declaring against the 
freedom of the press, and prohibited a banquet organised 
in Paris for February 22nd. 

An * 6meute ' on the next day. In which some fifty 
persons were shot by the troops In the streets, led 
quickly to an Insurrection, which was not arrested by 
the dismissal of Guizot. The King abdicated, and a 
Provisional Government took the place of the 
Monarchy. 

The letters open with an account of this ' 6meute,' 
the first being dated February 24th. 



PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 24th. 



LETTER I. 

Paris, Thursday, Feb. 24th, 1848. 

My Dear Mrs. Ashburnham, 

We are in the midst of a revolution more 
fearful than that of 1830, because the mob are 
beginning to pillage. I am just returned from a visit 
to Mons. de Tracy, where the Lafayettes live, and 
where I hoped to hear some news. On our road we 
found two barricades, and the troops returning with 
lowered muskets. Though there are a hundred 
thousand regular troops in Paris, and two hundred 
pieces of cannon, the King has given way, and we are 
wholly and solely defended by the National Guard 
some of whom are disaffected, at least to the dynasty. 
The twelve colonels of the twelve legions went to the 
Tuileries yesterday, and said that unless electoral 
reform were granted and a change of Ministry, they 
could not answer for their men. His Majesty gave 
way, and sent for Mol6.^ 

* It is interesting to see how this action of the King appeared to a 



Feb. 24th.] DISSOLUTION OF THE CHAMBER. 7 

This, however, was only one step in the fatal 
course of concession, and, after some fighting on the 
boulevard, in which about fifty persons were killed, 
Odilon Barrot was entrusted with the formation of 
the Ministry/ He is trying to form a cabinet with 
Dufaure, Thiers, Remusat, and Lamoriciere, but per- 
haps it is already too late even for this extreme parti. 
The Chamber is dissolved, the town in a state of siege, 
and Bugeaud military governor. Perhaps even now 
Ledru Rollin, a Liberal to the verge of Communism, 
is invested with the dictatorship.^ 

Mons. de Courcelles, who had just seen Mons. 
Dufaure, says that the consternation is fearful. 
Universal suffrage will probably be the result of the 
many mistakes committed by the Ministry. The 
King's abdication is called for at every barricade, and 
his extreme cowardice has greatly damped the ardour 
of his partisans. A fortnight ago this movement might 

contemporary ; in itself it was rather reactionary, for Mole, who had been 
minister under Napoleon, was a great upholder of the royal prerogative, 
belonged to the old order of things, and was entirely out of sympathy with 
the forward movements of the time. 

^ Barrot had withstood Louis Philippe's personal policy, and was leader 
of the dynastic Opposition. 

2 Ledru Rollin represented Socialism in the Chamber, and supported 
the demand for universal suffrage. He was not made dictator, but became 
Minister of the Interior in the Provisional Government, and subsequently 
stood for the Presidency. 



8 PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 24th. 

have been prevented ; now, no one knows what he is 
driving at. E. is in a dreadful state, as her husband 
was on duty all Tuesday, and is just returned to the 
barricade. He arrested three men himself, and as yet 
has escaped unhurt, but you may imagine how anxious 
we are. Some say we are at the end of the movement, 
but I suspect that is more because we hope in the 
magic number three than for any positive results.^ 
The Rue Basse du Rempart was running with 
blood this morning, and some people say they still 
hear a fusillade. The rappel and the generate are 
beating everywhere, and one cannot but feel nervous 
when one thinks of the spirit of anarchy and rapine 
that is abroad. All the shops are shut, even in our 
own peaceful quartier, and as we were going down 
the Rue d'Astorg, we saw a band of marauders who 
were attempting to force Madame de Noailles' house, 
repulsed by the National Guard. Bakers, wine- 
merchants, and charcutiers have been pillaged. Most 
of the houses with railings have been attacked, and 
the iron or wooden palings turned into weapons 
of offence. An American living in the Rue de 
Ponthieu has been pillaged, and his pictures cut to 
pieces with swords. I saw a National Guard disarmed 

1 Probably in allusion to its being the third day of rioting. 



Feb. 24th.] THE KING ABDICATES. 9 

by some boys under twenty, and I assure you It is a 
service of no small danger to join the patrols. I spend 
most of the day with E., who is already worn out with 
anxiety, and quite ill. M. is well and so calm that I 
can leave her without scruple. I must, of course, send 
this per post, as the Embassy is inaccessible ; besides, 
I am sure that in this case you will not mind. I 
shall write again to-morrow if there is anything 
settled. Of course I cannot execute your commission 
immediately. The Rue de la Paix is in military occu- 
pation, and not a shop open. I have no time for 
more details ; I am just in time for post. If quiet is 
restored, there must be a war in three months for 
Italy. I have just heard there has been a fusillade on 
the Place de la Concorde — a few killed, many wounded. 
How will all this end ? 

P.S. — I open my letter to say that the King has 
abdicated, and is off. The Comte de Paris is pro- 
claimed, and the Duchesse d'Orl^ans Regent. It is 
a frightful state of things. War is to be declared 
against Austria and Russia, as Poland is one of the 
cries of the mob. The vociferations are fearful.^ 

1 In July, 1847, ostensibly to suppress a local rising, Austria had 
occupied Ferrara j the Pope protested, and England and France sent their 
squadrons to the Bay of Naples. This action strengthened the national 
party, and in January '4.8 Ferdinand II. was forced to grant a Constitution. 



lo PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 24th. 

II. 

Feb. 24th, II at night. 

It is impossible to sleep after such a day, so I shall 
begin to chronicle the events that have succeeded each 
other with fabulous rapidity since my incoherent letter 
this morning. An aide-de-camp of the Minister of 
War, who was in the King's cabinet when he abdicated, 
gave me a detailed account of this most signal piece of 
cowardice. He had reviewed the troops in the Carrousel 
on horseback, highly rouged, when a cry was raised, 
" Voici les Faubourgs ! " ^ 

No one had any orders, no one gave any. The mob 
rushed forward, shouting "Vive la Garde Nationale ! " 
" Vivent les troupes ! " and shook hands with the out- 
posts. The King retreated precipitately with his sons, 
and a sub-lieutenant of the National Guard rushed 
alone into the Palace, asking to see him. He was 
admitted, and in the greatest agitation said, " Your 
Majesty must abdicate — nous sommes debordes." ^ 
" Very well," says the King, " in favour of my 

Jealousy of Austria prompted France in the desire to support at this 
juncture Charles Albert of Piedmont, who had decided to champion the 
national cause throughout Italy. 

1 The poorer districts, such as the Faubourg St. Antoine and the 
Faubourg du Temple, had always been centres of revolutionary movements, 
and their inhabitants were foremost in every popular demonstration. 

2 a "We are outflanked." 



Feb. 24th.] FLIGHT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 1 1 

grandson." " No, unconditionally," says the young 
and self-elected mouthpiece of public opinion. Would 
you believe it ? of all who were congregated round 
the Royal Person, Piscatory alone said, " Go down 
and head your troops ; fight for your crown and your 
dynasty." He was overruled, and they all marched 
out of the Palace, except the Duchesse d'Orleans, her 
children, and the Due de Nemours. The papers will 
tell you the dreadful scene the unfortunate woman 
underwent in the Chamber of Deputies. The Con- 
vention was nothing to this day's scenes ; shots were 
fired over the head of Mons. Sauzet into the King's 
picture, and in the tumult the little Princes were sepa- 
rated from their mother. The Due de Nemours' 
epaulets were torn off, and he escaped with great 
difficulty. The Royal Family are gone to Havre to 
be ready to embark for America. Many houses have 
been entered in the search for arms, but I cannot hear 
of pillage, except at the Tuileries. Here all the furni- 
ture was tossed out of the windows, the clothes paraded 
on sticks, the looking-glasses smashed, the portraits 
hacked with swords, and the carriages burned. The 
same scenes took place at the Palais Royal, which was 
set on fire. Report says the Opera is burnt : all the 
Corps de Garde decidedly are there. I was startled by 



12 PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 24th. 

hearing two shots fired, and of course I have been half 
an hour at the window, where, however, I have seen 
nothing but two patrols of National Guard, who will, I 
trust, maintain as much order as is consistent with the 
Sovereignty of the People and the total absence of all 
police and regular force. Upwards of five hundred 
Municipal Guards have been massacred, and some of 
the civic guard have been wounded ; but we hope all 
is settled now, and that the people, having got every- 
thing, have nothing left to cry for. A mob with 
lighted torches has been parading the streets, forcing 
us all to light up our windows, under penalty of seeing 
them broken. We are very pacific, and complied, so 
they cried " Bravo ! " but we are heartily ashamed of 
our submission to the Republic proclaimed at four, and 
which has perhaps already ceased to exist. I say this, 
but I do not hope it ; I am more inclined to think we 
shall have a despotic democracy with Ledru RoUin for 
a dictator. You cannot imagine the intense anxiety 
of this very long day ; we have been running from 
house to house all day, then rushing to the Mairie 
to hear about Adolphe.^ At times news reached us 
of perfect quiet, then of renewed tumults ; the cannon 
discharged for fun by the people kept us in perpetual 

* The writer's brother-in-law. 



Feb. 24th.] WEAKNESS OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 13 

uncertainty. An officer on horseback proclaimed the 
Comte de Paris just as I was closing my letter to 
you this morning, and at five a friend came to tell 
us of the Republic and the Provisional Government.^ 

Some say that Lamartine & Co. have taken an 
ouvrier into their counsels, and I hope it may be so, 
for some of them are far more peaceable than the so- 
called enlightened Left. I have not words to express 
the contempt I feel for the Monarch who by his 
obstinacy brought on the crisis, and by his cowardice 
lost the day. On Wednesday it was possible to 
mitrai/kr, and he made concessions ; this morning 
liberal measures and promises were his only chance, 
and he ran for it. I fully believe in the re-establish- 
ment of public order ; I trust we shall soon be indi- 
vidually safe, but it is horrible to think that this vast 
city is in the hands of an armed mob, drunk with 
excitement and with the wine which they drank from 
the barrels in the royal cellar. Isolated houses are 
most dangerous at such moments, for many lawless 
individuals will take advantage of the moment to 

1 In this Government there were two policies, represented respectively 
by Lamartine and by Louis Blanc. Lamartine, a Royalist by birth and 
personal sympathy, foresaw by this time that the Monarchy would be 
impossible ; he threw the influence of his genius, which had just culminated 
with the publication of his " Histoire des Girondins," into the growing 
Republican movement, and was instantly carried to power. 



14 PARIS IN 48. [Feb. 25th. 

pillage. The Koerneritz family have left their house, 
Madame de Magnoncour has taken refuge at her 
sister's in this street, Madame d'Osmond is gone to 
the country ; in fact, there is a great sauve-qui-peut 
among the very rich. Some small traits of character 
give me confidence in the people and hope for the 
future. The Duchesse d'Orleans' apartments have not 
been pillaged, and she is, I am told, gone back to them. 
All those going out of the Palace are severely searched 
to prevent theft, and a gold crucifix that was at the 
head of the Queen's bed was carried to St. Roch and 
deposited on the altar. It is decidedly not '93 ; 
but the spirit of '91 is abroad, and we are nearing it. 
Ministers are put to flight, and Guizot has escaped in 
disguise. I am happy to say Adolphe is gone home, 
so now I shall go to bed, and if we are all safe and 
sound to-morrow, I will continue my narrative.^ 



III. 

Friday, Feb. 25th. 

I was woke by the rappel^ and of course went 
over to my sister's as soon as I was dressed. From 

I Guizot, who had been in power since 1 840, was much disliked by the 
masses. He appealed only to the bourgeois electorate, and paid no heed to 
the growing discontent of the unenfranchised millions. 



Feb. 25th.] THE TROOPS EVICTED. 15 

her windows I saw four hundred men come to 
the neighbouring barracks and demand arms. They 
were distributed from the windows, and the whole 
regiment^ marched out with their knapsacks on, 
and two days' rations tied up on the top of their 
great-coats. They shook hands with the people and 
with the shopkeepers, and walked away singing very 
merrily, and saying they were going home to their 
families and provinces. In the mean time the armed 
men formed into a tolerably regular battalion, headed 
by a cadet of the Ecole Polytechnique, who addressed 
them under our window, and promised to take them to 
the Hotel de Ville to take the orders of the Provisional 
Government, after which the rallying point was to be 
the Place de la Republique, formerly Concorde. The 
proclamation of the Government contains some neces- 
sary reforms, but many Utopian notions, impossible in 
the midst of the luxuries and vices of a great capital. 
Lamartine is the only gentleman among the new 
Directory, and of course he won't last. I have not an 
idea who Mons. Flocon may be,^ but Recurt is the ne 
plus ultra of Communism. Louis Blanc is clever and 
educated ; so are Arago and Marrast, the editor 
of the National^ but I do not know much of the rest.^ 

* Of regulars. 2 Editor of La Reforme. 

3 Of this group Louis Blanc was the member destined to have most 



1 6 PARIS IN '48.' [Feb. 25th. 

I find the post did not go yesterday, so you will 
get my two letters at once, and you will see by the 
short interval between them the giant strides of the 
Liberal movement. I can tell you nothing beyond our 
own quart'ier^ as we* have not ventured far; but this 
morning the National Guard was called by sections, not 
legions, and to the Commune, not to the Mairie. The 
Chamber of Peers is abolished, and Boissy made his 
last speech yesterday. I hope you subscribe to some 
French newspaper, for it is well worth while to read 
the organs of this most singular Revolution. Every 
one has put on a uniform, and the pickets are very 
numerous to prevent pillage, which as yet has only 
consisted in the combatants applying for food, wine, 
tobacco, and snuff, without the slightest attempt to pay. 
In fact, no one dare ask for it. Occasionally, in sign 

lasting influence. He was bom in 181 3, at Madrid, where his father was 
inspector-general of finance to Joseph Bonaparte ; his mother was related 
to Pozzo di Borgo, the Corsican patriot. Recurt, a doctor by profession, 
was very popular in the democratic Faubourg St. Antoine, on account of 
his fearlessness and personal disinterestedness. He was successively Minister 
of the Interior and of Public Works in the Provisional Government, Em- 
manuel Arago was a son of the famous astronomer, and was called to the 
Bar in 1837 ; in '48 he was appointed Commissary- General to the Republic, 
and was sent to Lyons to levy the unpopular tax for the National Work- 
shops. Marrast, the Mayor of Paris under both the Provisional Govern- 
ment and the Assembly, was editor of the National; unlike the Rdforme, 
which obtained a much stronger hold on the democratic party, it was 
opposed to Socialism, 



Feb. 28th.] POLITENESS OF THE MOB. 17 

of rejoicing, a gun is fired in the air, which rather 
startles one, but, on the whole, it is wonderful how 
litde emotion we feel. I cannot tell you how civil the 
mob is ; I do not think it prudent to take a servant, 
and the groups give me the inside of the pavement, 
saying, " Vive la Republique, madame ! " I bow and 
pass on. Of course I don't go ^r, but if I did, and 
saw any row, I should not hesitate to ask the protection 
of a. blouse. The advance of civilisation will serve 
to prevent bloodshed, but I am glad that I am very 
obscure. The shops are half open, and the itinerant 
vendors of apples, potatoes, etc., plying as usual. 
This morning I saw two men carrying a piano on a 
hand-cart, and the workmen cleaning the gas-lamps as 
usual. It is wonderful, but I say again where are we 
to be driven to } 



IV. 

Feb. 28th. 

We are doing very well, and the Provisional 
Government is getting on splendidly. Shops were re- 
opened yesterday, carriages appeared. Legitimists have 
inscribed themselves with their titles on the roll of 
the National Guard, and Armand de Polignac joined 

c 



1 8 PARIS IN 48. [Feb. 28th. 

on Saturday in maintaining order in the Republic. 
Lamartine's energy and courage are beyond all praise ; 
in the midst of the infuriated mob calling for the red 
flag and Communism, he maintained the tricolour and 
the doctrine of public order. Muskets were levelled 
at him, swords brandished, but he did not stir, and he 
carried the day. One half, one tenth part of the 
energy would, if not have saved the dynasty, at least 
have left some regrets ; but as it is, " Lache comme un 
Bourbon," is more than ever a common saying. The 
Due de Montpensier, with tears in his eyes, would 
hardly give his father time to sign the abdication, 
which he snatched from the table and handed to 
Mons. Roche, the sub-lieutenant, who had asked for 
it. The Queen implored her husband to head the 
troops, and die in the Carrousel, saying, '*Je vous 
benirai du haut du balcon," but he would not. The 
Due de Nemours accompanied the Duchesse d'Orleans 
to the Chamber, and there fainted. The Prince de 
Chalais dragged him out, and a deputy gave him his 
great-coat ; no one knows where he is, but he is safe, 
for the first act of the Republic was to proclaim the 
abolition of the death-penalty for political offences. I 
have no time to tell you one half of the anecdotes going 
about respecting the cowardice of the Royal Family 



Feb. 28th.] DEVASTATION OF RAILWAYS. 19 

and the falling off of their creatures. Messrs. d'Hou- 
detot and de Berthois, King's aides-de-camp, applied 
on Saturday for employment under the Provisional 
Government ; Mons. de Cabreres also sent to ask 
of the Republic the sword taken from him by the 
Monarchy. What blindness to suppose that his trial 
gives him any claim on a revolution which professes to 
be made against corruption ! There is no pillage ; all 
those who have been found stealing have been shot by 
their comrades, and many bodies have been left in the 
roadway with the label * Voleur ' on their breasts. 
To-day everything is going on as usual, but years will 
not repair the mischief done in a night ; there is hardly 
a tree left on the Boulevards, the Champs Elysees are 
devastated, the Palais Royal much injured by fire, the 
Tuileries gutted, the streets pulled up. Rambuteau 
has fled, so has Mons. Delessert. The Decazes, 
Chabannes, Dumas, and many others that we know, 
are ruined ; the Blounts have lost incalculably, as the 
mischief to the railroads is more than any one dare 
avow. All the coachmen and draymen who were 
ruined by the competition have taken advantage of the 
confusion to burn the magazines and break down the 
bridges ; Mrs. Blount told me that their first rough 
guess at their losses was ;^6o,ooo ! but they only knew 



20 PARIS IN '48. [Feb. 28th. 

of disasters as far as Rouen, and perhaps it is worse 
beyond. 1 have seen many people in high authority, 
many in positions of great responsibility, and all seem 
sanguine for the future. I do my best to keep up 
poor E.'s spirits ; she will have it that the children are 
ruined, but I think that the depreciation of property is 
only momentary ; I have not felt one instant's uneasi- 
ness, nor do I think that as yet there has been any 
cause for it. The Ministers are safe, the troops re- 
organised, the National Guard unanimous, and as yet 
there is no one to head any party, consequently we 
have nothing but Republicans. I hope neither Bour- 
bons nor Buonapartes will attempt anything; the struggle 
would be unavailing, and the consequences impossible 
to foresee. This has been far more fearful, far more 
wonderful than July, 1830 ; there, there was a party, 
an organisation ; here we have the spirit of the people, 
and it has blown Royalty to the winds. It is curious 
to see the total want of foundation there was to the 
bourgeois throne, and the want of sympathy felt for 
the Citizen King. The sous-prefet of Dreux,^ who 
was here yesterday, says Louis Philippe is in his 
dotage, and I almost hope so, for I cannot bear 

1 A favourite pied-a-terre of Louis Philippe, and the burial-place of the 
Orleans family. 



Feb. 28th.] PRINCESS LIEVEN. 21 

such a total want of spirit and resolution ; if his 
crown was worth having, it was worth fighting for, 
and his sons should have died by his side. I am sure 
the Times will give you more news than I could, 
but I knew you would like to hear of us. M. is 
very calm, and has no intention of moving unless she 
is obliged. I saw yesterday a diplomatist who told me 
that Guizot was by no means the courageous man we 
thought. He was bold at the tribune, and inspired by 
having an audience, but in a tete-a-tete he was easily 
bullied ; he meant to retire three years ago, but 
Princess Lieven prevented him ; much good she has 
done by it ! On the boulevards, a few minutes before 
the attack that decided the fate of the nation, a man 
was vociferating for him, when some one called out 
in the crowd, " II n'y est pas ; vous savez bien qu'il 
couche toujours chez sa princesse Russe." If they had 
added her address, the Hotel Talleyrand would have 
fared as badly as the Tuileries. I believe she fled with 
Lady Sandwich, but no one seems to know much about 
it. All the English are writing to Lady Normanby 
for advice ; how silly, for what can she know, or 
how protect any one } ^ We see many croakers, of 

1 She was the wife of Lord Normanby, Ambassador to France since 
1846. 



22 PARIS IN '48. [March 2nd. 

course, but some hopeful persons, and these I join ; 
for misfortunes are only doubled by anticipation, and 
we have enough as it is. I have written this most 
infamously, for I am over-run with inquiries from 
England, and am dreadfully hurried. 



V. 

March 2nd. 

1 am so glad I wrote, as I trust my letters will 
have removed your anxiety with regard to life and 
property. For the present we are all as safe here as 
anywhere, and I am sure we have suffered far less than 
those who were in uncertainty. The Provisional 
Government is doing wonders ; the labours of Hercules 
are nothing to those of the nine who now govern us.^ 

Many workmen have returned to their work, and 
the greatest activity is displayed in drilling the Garde 
Nationale Mobile. Never was Paris better guarded, 
there are twenty rounds of patrols every night, and we 
have now about 225,000 men under arms. The 
Legitimists, Bonapartists, etc., have all rallied round 

1 These were Lamartlne, Dupont de TEure (President of the Council), 
Ledm Rollin, the banister Marie, Gamier-Pages (leader of the extreme 
Left), Cremieux (Minister of Justice), Marrast (Mayor of Paris), the 
journalists Flocon and Arago : to these were immediately added Louis 
Blanc and the mechanic Albert. 



March 2nd.] HOW THE MOVEMENT BEGAN. 23 

the new tricolour, and all are unanimous in defence of 
public order. It is now publicly confessed that the 
late outbreak is the result of a vast conspiracy that 
has been going on for seven years, and was to have 
culminated at the death of the King. The leaders had 
no hopes during his lifetime ; they thought that the 
wily Monarch would have made so many concessions 
that he would at least have died on the throne ; but 
the obstinacy of Guizot, the apathy of Duchatel, and 
the gross ignorance of Delessert hastened matters to 
a crisis. On Wednesday the forty-eight Republican 
sections were called out, for they thought the hour 
was come ; but the change of Ministry announced in 
the evening seemed to foil their endeavours. It was 
at that moment that they drew lots as to who should 
fire the first shot, for after such a demonstration 
they could no longer conceal their existence, and they 
resolved to fight. A shot was aimed at the Colonel's 
horse from the Rue Basse, and then the insurgents 
pressed upon the soldiers without firing ; the Colonel 
thought this was an attack, and ordered a volley. 
Fifty-two bodies were stretched on the boulevards, 
and then borne about the streets with the cries of 
" Vengeance ! Vengeance ! " I think this account is 
plausible and probable ; it is indeed the only one that 



24 PARIS IN '48. [March 2nd. 

explains the stray shot that upset the Monarchy. The 
man who saved Madame de Mountjoie told her 
he came from Lille for the Revolution, which shows 
the ramifications of the plot ; and one of the writers 
in the National told a man I know that they had 
been accumulating arms and ammunition at the bottom 
of the Rue d' Amsterdam for years. 

I walked all down the boulevards on Monday, 
and never saw such fearful havoc. From the Rue de 
la Paix to Montmartre there is not a tree, not a 
column, not a lamp-post, nor even a railing left stand- 
ing. Even the wooden shelters of the coach in- 
spectors are lying in the middle of the roadway, 
charred and smouldering ruins. Armourers' shops 
are the picture of desolation, and almost every man 
is armed ! Guns, swords, pistols, are hung in wild 
confusion round the men in blouses, and gentlemen, 
too, are most ridiculous figures, with cockades on 
their hats, and sword-belts over wadded over-coats. 
The Marseillaise^ the Parisienne^ and the Chant des 
Girondins are sung in nightly chorus in every street. 
Small industries have sprung up as if by magic : 
"La cocarde nationale, je la vends un sou." "Les 
R6pubHcaines, chansons supprimees par I'ex-tyran, 
15 centimes," etc. Everywhere collections for the 



March 2nd.] RIOTING AT THE TUILERIES. 25 

wounded, whom I believe to be very few in number. 
I afterwards went to the Tuileries, and there, indeed, 
the devastation was most melancholy ; not a window 
left, the stone piers of the gates pulled down, and 
plumbers busy in many places replacing the bent and 
broken railings. Bands of Defenseurs de la Patrie 
and hideous women were found in the salons of the 
Palace, and the Carrousel was full of most ludicrously 
armed ruffians. One, about sixteen, was mounting 
guard with the greatest gravity, having. on his head 
one of Madame Adelaide's bonnets, and on his back 
a blanket ; his pistols were fastened with curtain 
loops, and his sword was without a scabbard.^ Others 
were half in uniform, all grave, civil and orderly. 
In the midst of this rabble, the cadets of St. Cyr 
and the Polytechnic were superintending the pack- 
ing of the vans, which they afterwards drove them- 
selves to the Treasury. Even at the height of the 
scrimmage on Friday, the mob who had possession of 
the Palace, hit upon an expedient to save some things 
of great value ; they were put on a stretcher covered 
with a blanket, and carried by men who said : " Place 
aux blesses." Of course it is nonsense to say nothing 

^ Madame Adelaide, whose head-gear was thus misappropriated, had 
been throughout her life the close confidante of her brother the King ; her 
death, in 1 847, was a great blow to him. 



26 PARIS IN '48. [March 2nd. 

has been lost, but really there has been less than could 
have been expected by the most sanguine. I cannot 
tell you the number of letters I have been obliged to 
write during the last few days ; I fear that in conse- 
quence I may have repeated myself to you, but I know 
you will excuse this. There certainly is something in 
the French atmosphere that renders us more brave in 
the hour of danger, for I give you my word we have^ 
never had an instant's perturbation except about 
Adolphe. We used to walk to the Mairie, hear 
he was safe, and return to discuss the probabilities of 
the future. To-day is the grand demonstration in 
honour of Armand Carrel. I am told E. de Girardin, 
who shot him, is to speechify and gush on the occasion, 
which, I was told, was in the best of taste.^ 

I hope you may not set out till you see a little 
more of the prospects of our world, so dark, so gloomy 
everywhere. I am sanguine, but then I have no reason 
to fear, and that makes me hope. How thankful 

^ Armand Carrel had helped Thiers and Mignet to found the National. 
He was a chivalrous Republican, who, out of misguided enthusiasm, fought 
against France in the war with Spain in 1824. Emile de Girardin, who 
killed him in a duel, was also a journalist, his best-known paper being 
La Presse. He was for many years a deputy, but was too unstable in his 
politics (his nickname was ' La Girouette ') to have much influence ; he was, 
however, a brilliant polemical debater, and led several attacks on Guizot's 
corrupt Ministry. 



March 2nd.] ABOLITION OF TITLES. 27 

I am that was spared this dreadful sight ; I 

remember his despair in 1830, and that was child's 
play compared to this. Louis Philippe has not left 
an adherent in France, and so far he saves trouble ; but 
other parties must form as soon as order is restored, 
and then war alone will prevent the French devouring 
each other. I have been suffering acutely from tooth- 
ache, and as my dentist was on guard and there was 
a barricade at his door, I have had no remedy but 
patience ; in telling you this, I feel I am quite as 
ridiculous as the man who, having escaped from the 
catastrophe of the 8th of May on the Versailles railway, 
ever after called himself une victime^ because he had 
lost his umbrella. But you may laugh at me, and I 
don't care. Titles were abolished yesterday, and all 
the ministers impeached, but not till they were all safe. 
Pray excuse this abominable scrawl ; I have not time 
to write, nor could I go slowly if I would, with such 
scenes before my eyes. We cannot read ; history 
and romance contain nothing equal to what we see 
from our windows. 



28 PARIS IN '48. [March 5th. 



VI. 

March 5 th. 

You will make me quite conceited by praising me 
so much for what is a real gratification to me ; 1 always 
liked writing, and now that events crowd so upon each 
other that the history of a day is more remarkable than 
that of years, I literally can do nothing else. Then 
you understand, and feel, and enter into the spirit of the 
nation, and that is really great and good. I do not 
say we shall carry out all Lamartine's noble theories, 
nor make his splendid language the voice of the people ; 
but, believe me, much will be done. In the Provisional 
Government there are some honest men : I need not 
mention Lamartine, he is well known, but Carnot, 
Marrast, and Louis Blanc have also much merit. 
The last named has the confidence of the working 
classes ; Marrast belongs to the Liberal press, and has 
not, like Emile de Girardin (who aims at notoriety), 
des antecedens de cour d'assises} Mons. Goudchaux, 

1 This is, no doubt, in allusion to the fact that E. de Girardin, who was 
the natural son of General Alexandre de Girardin, had been legitimised by 
his father in 1828. Carnot, son of the member of the Comite de Salut public 
in 1793, was a disciple of St, Simon, and an educational reformer. He was 
made Minister of Public Worship and Instruction in the Provisional Govern- 
ment, and attempted in vain to conciliate the clergy, who were hostile to 
him as a free-thinker. He initiated various measures which paved the way 



Mar.sth.] THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT. 29 

the Minister of Finance, Is a very able man, and 
a good practical administrator ; he, Cremieux, and 
Lamartlne, have kept almost all the staff of the late 
Ministry, which is wise and saves time. Not so 
Ledru Rollin and Subervie. The Ministry of the 
Interior Is the vast field In which small ambitions are 
opposing their new and most unfounded claims to 
those in possession. General Subervie Is eighty-three, 
and quite incapable of organising an army ; this how- 
ever Is most necessary, for the late movement has been 
fatal to the spirit of the troops. What can you expect 
from men whose orders were : " You will advance on 
the people ; If they charge, you will retreat ; If they 
push on, return to your guard-houses, but on no account 
fire " } The consequence is, numbers of officers broke 
their swords, and have since entered the National Guard, 
on which the Provisional Government has conferred 
the privilege of distinguishing between an emeute and a 
revolution legitime.^ An article In the Presse^ supposed to 

towards free education, but his errors of judgment deprived him of the credit 
of his work. Mons. Goudchaux, here mentioned, was of Jewish origin, and 
head of a well-known bank ; he did not long retain his portfolio, as he 
resigned on the 5th of March. Cremieux, Minister of Justice (also a Jew), 
was a distinguished advocate, free-trader, and reformer. 

* General Subervie was the first Minister of War in the Provisional 
Government ; he was from the outset ignored by the Commission of 
Defence, of which the best-known generals were members, and his appoint- 
ment was almost immediately cancelled. 



30 PARIS IN '48. [March sth 

be inspired by Lamartine, gives much good advice, 
reprobates the abuses already springing up, and ends with 
the warning: "Prenez garde que la Republique ne 
perisse par le ridicule ! " This is more true than 
appears at first sight, for every great action has had its 
parody. Lamartine gloriously proclaimed the abolition 
of the death-penalty for political offences, in the presence 
of an armed mob demanding the heads of the Ministers, 
and, a few days after, Emile de Girardin goes to Le 
Mande, to the tomb of Armand Carrel whom he killed 
in a duel, and "avec des larmes dans la voix (style 
com mande) " makes a speech, a literal extract from 
Dupin's requisiioire^ begging the abolition of duel- 
ling. Then the illustrious poet gained immortal 
honour by his adherence to the old flag of the Re- 
public, and yesterday, Courtais, the unknown deputy 
of the Left who now heads the National Guard, 
thundered against a red flag held by some gamin, 
and instantly went to the expense of a new one. 
Newspapers are not half quick enough in giving in- 
formation ; every decree is posted, and sometimes ten 
succeed each other in an hour. Then the independent, 
the disinterested, choose also to be represented, and 
as they are forbidden the use of white paper, they print 
without ceasing on all manner of flaming colours. I 



March 5th.] ELOQUENT PLACARDS. 31 

read the rights of women in yellow, those of old men 
in blue, the regulations of the octroi in pale lilac, and 
the opinion of an ill-used patriot in bright pink. The 
first of these placards I did not well understand, but 
the upshot is the establishment of clubs, where the 
privileges of washerwomen and their remedy against 
the ironers will be clearly defined : of course each 
industry will have its club, and we shall come down 
to tricoteuses. I did see one woman in a Phrygian 
cap, but I must say she was hissed. The old men 
propose (in blue) to have 500 francs a year secured to 
them at fifty-five years, 700 francs at sixty-five, and 
1 100 francs at seventy-five ; if they marry or get out 
of health, there is to be a scale of years adapted to 
either emergency. The lilac placard is evidently a 
butcher who wishes to encourage the consumption of 
meat, for he says : " A quoi devons-nous attribuer les 
libertes de I'Angleterre } a leur force ; et leur force 
d'ou vient elle ? d'une nourriture saine et abondante 
dont la viande fait la base, et dont la salaison est 
exclue." Much they know about England if they 
suppose the working classes don't eat bacon. The 
pink petition is signed " Sobrier," who for three days 
was joined to Caussidiere in the administration of 
police. He invites all who want nothing but the glory 



32 PARIS IN '48. [March 5th. 

of France to join him in the Rue de la Rochefoucauld, 
and stem the stream of public corruption which is be- 
ginning to sully the pure stream of Republican France. 
I passed at the bottom of his street yesterday, and 
cannot say I perceived any symptoms of the crowd for 
whom he was prepared.^ 

I forgot to mention a vermilion placard from Les 
1'ravailleurs ; it is too long to repeat, but the end is : 
" Mes amis, nous apporterons aux manufactures nos 
sueurs, les maitres y porteront leurs fortunes ; capitali- 
sons le tout et faisons un partage loyal ! " What do 
you say to the " capitalisation de la sueur " } is 
Laputha so far from us } I went yesterday to see the 
funeral ceremonies on the boulevard, and never was in 
so dense a crowd. It was a strange sight, a little 
solemn and very absurd ; there were no cries, no 

1 Sobrier was a political enthusiast who devoted himself and his consider- 
able fortune to Republican propaganda ; he used his house as a secret club, 
and there stored arms which were supplied to him by the Prefecture of 
Police on the authority of a letter from Lamartlne. Caussidiere was con- 
nected with the paper La Reforme. On the formation of the Provisional 
Government, he marched straight from the barricades to, and installed 
himself in, the Prefecture of Police, whence it was impossible to dislodge 
him. He was a man of immense energy, and soon organised a rough and 
ready force of 2000 Gardes du Peuple, or Montagnards, by means of whom 
he kept order. On the 1 3th of March he was confirmed in his office, on 
the 15th May he resigned, having been accused of lack of energy in the 
attempt to prevent the populace from invading the Assembly. He appealed 
to the electors, and was returned by 147,000 votes. 



March 5th.] FUNERAL OF THE VICTIMS. 33 

enthusiasm, except for the Polish children and for a 
few workmen who bore the banner with * A bas les 
incendiaires.' The car was a failure, and so shaky 
that the figure of Liberty reached the Bastille with the 
greatest difficulty. As most workmen are busy talking 
about their rights, all work is done by amateurs, and 
badly enough in all conscience ; Heaven preserve you 
and your carriage springs from amateur pavement ! 
The Presse said : " Que chaque Garde National 
replace un pave et la circulation sera retablie sur tous 
les points ; " so it is, but imagine the jolts ! The finest 
thing in the whole procession was the Garde Nationale 
Mobile, the enrolled of yesterday, as soldier-like, as 
martial as the veterans of the regular army ; it is quite 
true that every man is born a soldier here, and though 
a revolution may find them unfit for street warfare, be 
assured that the veriest gamin will be a lion against the 
enemy. You can have no idea of the ludicrous means 
of escape to which terror has driven many women of 
society ; Madame de Valin and Madame de St. Priest 
were so frightened that they dressed as peasants, got a 
barrowful of eggs and left Paris, shouting the Mar- 
seillaise out of tune ; if I had done anything of the 
sort, I never could see an Qgg again without blush- 
ing. Many Englishwomen have exercised their vast 

D 



34 PARIS IN '48. [March 5th. 

pedestrian powers during the last momentous events, 
and have reached unheard of distances with hordes of 
children and no clean clothes ; they have braved their 
usual bugbear — wet feet, and have been mostly laid 
up with coughs and colds within a radius of twenty 
miles. 

Mrs. Hope's house on the Quai d'Orsay was entered 
for arms by twelve men, one of whom left traces of his 
wounds on the carpet ; they looked at her dressing- 
case and many valuable things about the room, but 
said they only wanted arms, and begged to have those 
she inherited from her father. General Rapp. The 
servant begged they would at least leave the sword 
presented to the General by the town of Dantzig, and 
they agreed, and left the house crying, "Vive le 
General Rapp ! " 

I believe I told you Louis Philippe had not left 
a partisan in France, but I had not then seen Mrs. 

, and as she has requested me to give publicity 

to her opinions, I hope you will say from her that 
the King was on horseback all the morning, and that 
the Princes fought like lions, but the crowd was so 
great that no one found it out ; she says that the truth 
being told on this subject, may be of use to them when 
they come back. Mr. is equally lucid, but on 



March 6th.] THE NEW ELECTORATE. 35 

different lines ; his confidence is unbounded, and he 
would go through ten such revolutions, " sans crainte 
du lendemain," as Chenier says. 



VII. 

March 6th. 

I heard a great deal about the National Assembly 
yesterday, and hasten to communicate my intelligence : 
the elections are fixed for the 9th of April, and the 
meeting for the 20th ; every Frenchman of twenty-one 
is an elector, every Frenchman of twenty-five is eligible ; 
you may vote where you please, and there will be 
one representative to every 40,000, that is about 900 
members in all. It is fully expected that the elections 
will be very moderate, in which case we shall have 
more emeutes ; the Sovereign People will decidedly 
attempt fighting, and as certainly be defeated by the 
National Guard who are, to a man, conservative. The 
very important point is to get over the next six weeks, 
and meet the Assembly with so many great and impor- 
tant decrees of the Provisional Government that 
Lamartine may be named President for five years. 
This will give the Republic time to wear itself out, 
and we shall return to something absolute, whether 



36 PARIS IN '48. [March 6th. 

military or legitimate I do not pretend to say. Unfor- 
tunately parties are already beginning to appear ; now 
that every one is convinced that we have jumped from 
'89 to '95 over the Reign of Terror and proscrip- 
tion, and done the work of six years in as many days, 
they wish to hurry on the denouement most unwisely. 
In the corps de gardes and the caf6s, the Regency is 
openly talked of and pressed on the civic guard ; in 
other places the Due de Bordeaux is praised and 
called "Thomme de I'avenir."^ Neither of these 
disturbing factors has a party, but they are trouble- 
some and dangerous considering the very slight 
foundation on which public order now rests. To 
my mind a reaction (if any) would be Legitimist : 
" On revient sur la haine, jamais sur le mepris." 
The partisans of the elder branch have shown them- 
selves everywhere in the ranks of the people since 
the 24th ; they assist in the maintenance of order, 
and are in general loudly cheered ; for somehow 
there is a prestige about great names, to which even 
the vulgar are accessible. They say that when the 
Tuileries were first opened to the public, a young 
man sat down to one of the Royal pianos and began 

^ The Due de Bordeaux, better known as the Comte de Chanbordj 
son of Charles X. 



March 6th.] DE POLIGNAC AS A PATRIOT. 37 

playing the Marseillaise with such spirit that he soon 
collected a crowd of the heroes around him. In their 
enthusiasm they all called out — 

" Qui es-tu, que nous te fassions nommer 
officier ? '* 

His answer was : " Si je vous dis mon nom, vous 
me jeterez par la fenetre." 

" Mais non, que tu sois le diable lui-m^me nous te 
porterons en triomphe." 

It was Alphonse de Polignac, the son of the minis- 
ter who overthrew Charles X., who was proclaiming 
the triumph of the popular cause ; is it not a strange 
rapprochement? To finish this long story, I must add 
the Garde Mobile have unanimously named him their 
captain.^ 

Mons. Guizot did not leave this till Wednesday 
the 1st, and his last words were: "The King dis- 
pensed with my services on Wednesday, and on 
Thursday he was hurled from his throne." What do 
you say to such infatuation ? I know nothing of 
diplomatic appointments, but I will certainly let you 

1 Jules de Polignac had been one of the most unpopular of the ministers 
of Charles X., for he it was who in 1830 promulgated the reactionary 'Four 
Ordinances ' which dissolved the Chambers, called together a new Parlia- 
ment, suspended the liberty of the press, and altered the franchise. He was 
with difficulty rescued from the populace who clamoured for his head. 



38 PARIS IN '48. [March loth. 

hear as soon as any are made. I cannot tell you how 
many persons have written to me imploring, some a 
line out of interest for my safety, others a slight sketch 
of the times ; this I cannot supply : each day is so full 
that I hardly remember the previous one. However, 
it is possible I may have told you the same thing 
twice over, but you will, I am sure, excuse me, and 
remember that even the newspapers get bewildered in 
the movement. 

I think ought not to come till May, as the 

National Assembly will then be sitting.^ 



VIII. 

March loth. 

I am sure you expect a letter from me, but I really 
have nothing of any importance to relate. After the 
tremendous excitement of the late events, all that is 
now going on seems most monotonous, though it is in 
reality very serious. What was hailed with transport 
when we thought pillage and massacre were at our 
doors, is now thought insufficient and useless. Every 

1 On the 28th of April the National Assembly, consisting of nine hundred 
rhembers, was elected by universal suffrage, eight millions being qualified to 
vote. The electorate under Louis Philippe comprised only two hundred 
thousand. 



March loth.] GOUDCHAUX RESIGNS. 39 

one now asks who made the Provisional Government, 
and the answer is : " Fifteen deputies in fear of their 
lives." Then what right have they to remove taxes, 
particularly such as are optional .'' The tax on news- 
papers produced 20,000,000 francs, and how is this 
deficiency to be made up without adopting some other 
means of filling the coffers of the State ? Mons. 
Goudchaux resigned in consequence, saying : " Je ne 
veux pas mener I'etat a une banqueroute." Public 
credit is at the lowest ebb, and most people are falling 
into the deplorable system of keeping large sums by 
them, either for flight or for speculation. The greatest 
confusion prevails in all public services ; that of the 
National Guard beats all, as most of them, gentlemen 
and tradespeople, are on duty one night out of three. 
The Garde Mobile, which is to take the service as 
soon as it is organised, is most dangerous ; their 
desperate ignorance makes them tools of any party, and 
I have no doubt that a million francs might establish 
Russian despotism here with as much ease as that with 
which was brought about the singular liberty now 
existing. Mons. de Lamartine is very well meaning, 
but his circular has had a bad effect. The moderate 
party thinks it dangerous, the exaltes say it means 
nothing. The most dangerous members of the 



40 PARIS IN '48. [March loth. 

Government are Ledru RoUin, who is so much in debt 
that a universal bankruptcy would be most acceptable 
to him, and Louis Blanc, who, never having the 
faintest notion of being in power, had published a 
number of high-sounding theories to which his brothers 
the workmen wish to pin him down. To get out of 
his difficulties, he is turning towards the Communists, 
that most insidious of all parties.^ 

There is, however, one resolute man at his elbow, 
and that is Pagnerre, the editor of Opposition pam- 
phlets during the late reign, now Secretary to the 
Government, who has warned the author of the 
* Histoire de Dix Ans ' that he has a pistol always 
ready to shoot him on the first Communist demonstra- 
tion. This may keep him in order for some time, but 

1 Of all the men who came to the front in the Revolution of '48 there 
is none of whom it was more difficult for his contemporaries to judge than 
Louis Blanc. He linked with the Republican idea a revolutionary theory 
of property which inspired the indictment of the bourgeoisie contained in 
his 'Histoire de Dix Ans' (1830-40). It was a scheme, moderate in itself, 
for the ' organisation of labour ' by means of co-operative societies. The 
State was to advance the capital for this purpose ,- the associations were to 
elect their own officers, to pay equal wages, and to compete with the indi- 
vidual producer. This was the first definite experiment in State Socialism, 
a slight and superficial attempt to reorganise industry after the breakdown 
of the guilds and the remotal of the restrictions on trade which were 
abolished by the first Revolution. This attempt was soon merged, against 
his will, in a crude socialist campaign against * capital ' which led to out- 
breaks and the Invasion of the Chamber by mobs of workmen clamouring 
for the ' right to labour.' 



March loth.] ORGANISATION OF LABOUR. 41 

of course the first change will be to remove Pagnerre 
to other duties — that is, beyond pistol shot. Carnot's 
circular to the electors of France is most absurd ; you 
will have seen what the Debats says on the subject, 
and that is the opinion of all. The organisation of 
work, about which such a fuss is made, is really 
ludicrous : all men who work get 2.50 fr., all who 
don't 1.50 fr. ; gamins^ whether they work or not, i fr. 
Armorial bearings generally are being rubbed off 
carriages, consequently a large class of workmen are 
turned adrift, and heraldic painters may now make 
trenches, or pave the streets. Trade is at the lowest 
ebb, and the exasperation of the shopkeepers almost as 
much to be dreaded as the brute force of the mob. 
Some think this movement was Legitimist, and really 
it begins to look like it ; in the corps-de-gardes and 
the cabarets, Henri V. is publicly spoken of, and in 
general his party is the only one that does not look 
nonplussed. Then the nominations made are very 
curious : Bedeau, who succeeds Sebastiani, always was 
a Legitimist ; * Lamorici^re's tendency is also that way, 
and many more such appointments are expected. The 
first person who entered the Tuileries with the mob 

^ General Bedeau served with distinction in Africa, and was in high 
favour with the Due d'Aumale. 



42 PARIS IN 48. [March loth. 

was Colonel Sala, aide-de-camp to the Due de 
Bordeaux, and one of the commanders in La Vendee. 
I am very far from thinking a return to the old 
Bourbons possible, at least till the Republic has worn 
itself out, either in external war or in internal 
dissensions, but I mean that it is the only Restoration 
that is even hinted at. It is really incredible to see the 
utter change that the dictatorship of the last fortnight 
has brought about in the minds of most people ; 
Republicans are becoming quite scarce, and the 
descendants of the * Hero of the two Worlds,' whose 
very name was synonymous with democratic institu- 
tions, are now tearing their hair and sighing for a well- 
organised Monarchy.^ For a long time I tried to 
laugh, and. to see the bright side of things, but I 
cannot now ; how can one hope for better days when 
a national bankruptcy is almost inevitable, when an 
army is perfectly demoralised, and when there is not 
even one great man to lead the nation out of this 
inextricable confusion. I had hopes of the National 
Assembly, but Carnot's circular and the general aspect 
of affairs is too unfavourable ; some one to whom 
I was speaking on the subject said : '* Savez-vous 

1 Lafayette was called the Hero of the two Worlds on account of his 
having taken part in the Revolution in North America. 



March loth.] WANT OF PUBLIC SPIRIT. 43 

comment se passera cette fameuse Assemblee Nationale ? 
Eh bien, ceux qui n'auront pas trop peur seront seuls 
sur les bancs, couches en joue par quelques gamins, et 
ceux qui auront bien peur, c'est a dire la tres grande 
majorite, galopperont dans les corridors." I cannot 
help thinking this is not exaggerated, for the very- 
nature of France seems changed ; where all their 
bravery came from I cannot conceive, for it is gone, 
and they are not ashamed of owning it. I was asking 
a National Guard, who was not a coward, what would 
be the probable result of a conflict with the people, 
and he answered : " Those who show fight, about a 
dozen, will be killed, and the remainder will distribute 
provisions to the heroes." I am sorry to say this 
feeling pervades all classes ; this long peace has fostered 
bourgeois sentiments, and we do not know whether 
some Napoleon, or Murat, or Ney may be found in 
the Polytechnic School. There is hardly pity felt for 
the Exiles, and yet no one is satisfied with the present 
state of things ; every one fully expects bloodshed 
before three months. The National Assembly is to be 
defended by 30,000 men, in order that those who are 
elected from and by the people may be free ! What a 
mockery ! The truth is not told about the depart- 
ments ; the adhesion of many has been very unwilling, 



44 PARIS IN '48. [March loth. 

and the standard of revolt might be planted anywhere, 
for any one, with a reasonable chance of at least 
temporary success. Lyons is most positively in the 
hands of patriots of '93 — people who, to the old 
device 'Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite,' add 'ou la mort.' 
General BourjoUy is to set vigorously to work, but, 
when he has reduced them to order and brought the 
ringleaders to summary punishment, he will be dis- 
owned. They are giving orders innumerable about 
minutise, with the worst possible effect ; thus, they 
have suppressed the words ' ordre public ' on the 
colours of the National Guard, and yet it is the only 
thing they will really fight for ; then, all the officers 
who have received the cross of the Legion of Honour 
for their vigour in maintaining the late Government 
through the troubles of '31, '32, '34, '38, etc., are to 
be degraded because they did not discern that the 
heroes of those barricades would be one day proclaimed 
their brothers. This will drive many back to their 
homes, where they will be ready to head any move- 
ment that will restore the Army to its proper place in . 
the social hierarchy. Civil crosses are also to be care- 
fully revised, a;id taken from all who have received 
them for services to the dynasty, not to the country. 
What an opening for the satisfaction of small passions ! 



March 14th.] GENERAL DISINTEGRATION. 45 

how many, envious of court favours, will bring 
denunciations against worthy individuals who never 
had and never were ambitious of political distinction ! 
I have no idea how they will organise the diplo- 
matic appointments, but they will be so miserably paid 
that no one of any importance will accept them. 
You will see Mons. de Mornay's name among the 
* revoked,' but my firm conviction is that those have 
all resigned^ not been deprived of their posts. This 
I think because one or two whom I know, and 
who always cry " Vive moi ! " through all public 
changes, are not yet on the list. I will let you know 
anything of importance that occurs, but I do not 
suppose you will care to get any more letters like this, 
showing the truth of Emile de Girardin's attack upon 
the Powers that Be : " Vous avez beaucoup disor- 
ganise, mais qu'avez-vous organise .'' " 



IX. 

March 14th. 

Everything is going on from bad to worse ; how 
we are to get through the next five weeks is more 
than any one knows. The Provisional Government 
are not upon speaking terms, consequently each 



46 PARIS IN '48. [March 14th. 

member acts for himself, and issues proclamations 
which make the hair of the rest stand on end. Such 
has been the effect of Ledru Rollin's circular concern- 
ing the elections ; it completes that of Carnot : the 
one eschews education, the other, business. The 
Minister of Public Instruction favours the illiterate, 
and the Minister of the Interior expressly says, " Let 
the elections be, not republican, but revolutionary." 
How are we to go on in this state of doubt, of 
uncertainty, of bankruptcy } Garnier Pages, whose 
compte rendu of the finances was manly but terrific, 
cannot hope to establish public credit when his col- 
leagues are preaching a reign of moral terror more 
dire than the scaffolds of '93.^ Not only is it im- 
possible to get change for a 500-franc note, except at 
the Bank of France, but people are actually beginning 
to buy bars of gold and to get plate melted down. 
Every day some great failure adds to the general 
consternation ; the Caisse Gouin was the first, then 
Lafitte and Blount, yesterday Baudon, and to-morrow 



1 Gamier Pages, leader of the extreme Left, succeeded Goudchaux as 
Finance Minister. After trying various expedients to raise money, he 
imposed the tax of 45 centimes on every franc, which was calculated to 
produce one hundred and ninety millions. This did more to discredit the 
Republic among the rural population than any other act of the Provisional 
Government. 



March i4th.] LOUIS BLANC. 47 

Ganneron. I am hit rather hard at the Blounts', but 
I hope I may recover something in time. The army 
to a man is opposed to the present system, and if any 
general had the courage to raise any standard, military 
despotism might immediately be substituted for that 
under which we are now groaning. The last measure 
proposed is to reduce the pay of the officers — lieutenant- 
generals one-half, colonels, captains, etc., one-third, 
and even lieutenants one-fifth ; now, the latter had 
only 1 200 fr., and as they are mostly a ranciennete 
— many of them are near forty, and have a wife and 
children to support — you may imagine the discontent 
and the real misery this will entail upon a very large 
and powerful class. The Garde Mobile is as dangerous 
as it is useless, and yesterday expelled the regular 
National Guards from one of the barracks which they 
occupied in common. Louis Blanc is the most wicked 
of the ultra half of the Government, and his great 
influence over the working classes renders him perfectly 
irremovable. In my last I told you Pagnerre would 
be removed, and so he was on Saturday ; his new 
avocation keeps him at the Hotel de Ville, while Louis 
Blanc rules it at the Luxembourg. He (Louis Blanc) 
is said to be a son of Pozzo di Borgo, and as his 
certificate of birth runs thus, * Louis ,' he called 



48 PARIS IN '48. [March 14th. 

himself Louis Blanc. Bethmont, Marie, Carnot, 
Lamartine, Garnier Pages, and even Marrast, are not 
mischievous ; they are called the ' Republicains en 
gants jaunes ; ' but Flocon, the disappointed doctor, 
who rules at Vincennes, Louis Blanc, the natural son, 
whose position has always been most galling, and 
Arago, half-mad with political exultation, will do any 
and everything to keep themselves in power, and to 
revenge on society their fancied ills/ They are headed 
by Ledru Rollin, who for years has been under the 
pressure of overwhelming debt ; his first act was the 
abolition of imprisonment for debt, his second, pil- 
laging the Treasury, and now he is accused of selling 
places. Mons. Goudchaux would not allow his financial 
extravagances, and retired ; Garnier Pages opposes 
them, and will also be sacrificed. Even the most , 
sanguine do not expect the Funds to pay next , 
September, and yet they want a loan which of course ■ 
will only be obtained by intimidation. Rothschild 
himself is in despair, and says: "Rien ne vaut plus 
rien — que faire } " No man's signature is accepted, bank- 
notes are viewed with suspicion, and nothing goes 

^ Bethmont was a distinguished barrister, and a zealous agitator for 
reform in opposition to Guizot's cabinet. As Minister of Commerce and 
Agriculture he appointed various commissions to collect statistics, and he 
inaugurated nine agricultural colleges between Febniary and May, 1848. : 



March i4th.] DEPRECIATION OF VALUES. 49 

down but our hard, cumbersome 5-franc pieces. As 
to gold, you may get 20 louis for 240 francs, but not 
more, were you ever so much inclined to pay ' la taxe 
du dixieme.' A Communist row was announced for 
Sunday, but it did not take place ; another, of a Legiti- 
mist tendency, is expected on Saturday, but I believe 
this too will go off in smoke. It is impossible to 
picture to one's self such utter despondency ; no one 
has energy to oppose a system which every one execrates 
with heart and soul ; the shop-keepers believe the word 
' provisional ' applies to the Republic, and that a King 
will be nominated by the National Assembly, and then, 
when they find out how they have been deceived, I 
fully expect to see the bourgeoisie fall upon the mob. 
When this happens there will be an end to the so 
much vaunted bloodless victory of the people ; it will 
be war to the death, an extermination of the weak by 
the strong ; but who will be the strong } I hope I 
may be mistaken, but I have most gloomy forebodings. 
Every one who can go off is on the wing ; the Cowleys 
will, I believe, go next week. M. told me that she 
would like to give up her life to Louis Philippe, and 
was quite angry because I thought him the most un- 
interesting of all the exiles, past and present. I feel 
more for Florestan II., Duke of Monaco, and his 



so PARIS IN '48. [March 14th. 

expulsion, than for the dastardly bourgeois who has 
brought us to our present pass. I find Mons. Delessert 
was not so much to blame as I had at first supposed ; 
he warned Guizot who called him an alarmist, Duchatel 
who assured him he knew better, and the King who 
turned his back upon him. The first act of the 
Republicans was to go to the registers of the police, 
and there they found their names, their residences, 
their actions all inscribed, and Caussidiere exclaimed 
in astonishment : " Nous y sommes tous, il n'en 
manque pas un." The King's conduct to Thiers was 
most injudicious ; at the hour when he wanted him 
most he sent for him, and said without preamble : 
" J'ai besoin de votre nom ; formez un cabinet." At 
every suggestion he went into the next room, con- 
sulted Guizot, whom Thiers could see writing at the 
royal bureau, and came back to negative all he pro- 
posed. The household accuse the diminutive author 
of * L'Histoire de la Revolution ' of treachery, for it 
was he who forbade firing ; but I imagine he mis- 
calculated his influence, and really thought his name 
was a sufficient guarantee to the Liberal party. Be 
that as it may, all are unanimous in blaming the late 
order of things, but still more vociferous in condemning 
the present dictatorship. I am told that it is highly 



March i8th.] INCREASED TAXATION. 51 

imprudent to write the truth, and that letters are 
opened in the post ; but I do not care. If I could 
scream my sentiments from the housetop, and make 
all Europe sensible of the horrors of revolution and 
the tyranny of democracy, I should be delighted. I 
always doubted the practicability of a Republic, but 
I did not expect to see it wear itself out in three 
weeks. 

X. 

March i8th. 

Now for politics, or rather for a gloomy croak on 
the sad prospects of France. It is quite fearful to see 
the increased agitation, the daily departures, and the 
lamentable loss of property of all whom one cares for. 
The last edict of Garnier Pages, increasing the taxes by 
one half, is a death-blow to all small landed proprietors : 
the Revolution of July, which promised cheap govern- 
ment, augmented the taxation 30 per cent.; this, purer 
and cheaper, augments it at once 50, thus making an 
augmentation of 80 on what were called the hard times 
of the Restoration. The worst of it is, it is only a 
palliative which may avert the evil hour of bankruptcy, 
but which cannot create any permanent resources. The 
Provisional Government have undertaken what no one 



52 PARIS IN 48. [March i8th. 

could perform, and this they have promised with empty 
cofFers and the largest standing army in Europe. They 
have already solemnly decreed that none shall want, and 
to carry out this Utopia they at first gave 30 sous to all 
who had no work ; this they yesterday reduced to 20 ; 
we don't as yet know the result. To those who were 
fools enough to wait for employment they promised 
unlimited occupation, and lo ! now they only secure 
three days in the week at 2 fr., thus putting the hard- 
working artisan on a level with the hizy faubourien, who 
sings ' Mourir pour la patrie ' or the Marseillaise from 
morning to night. As to the Army, you saw how use- 
less it was in the hour of danger, and now it is still 
more so, as the Sovereign People have decreed that none 
but the citizens of Paris shall defend their hearths. A 
regiment of chasseurs came in on Tuesday, but 60,000 
men went to the Hotel de Ville to beg they might be 
dismissed, and Lamartine waved a flag, Dupont de 
I'Eure hobbled down and showed them how very grey 
and bald he had grown in their service,^ Ledru Rollin 
vociferated, Louis Blanc called out " Mes freres " and 
turned on all the ordinary blague^ and, at one o'clock 
in the morning, the Colonel, who was sleeping in peace, 
was requested to be out of the way before daybreak. 

^ He was born in 1767. 



Mar. i8th.] GENERAL COURTAIS ASSAULTED. S3 

The demonstration of the National Guard was not so 
well received: they wished to remain in companies so as 
to elect their officers among their friends ; but this 
would have made the electors moderate, and Ledru 
Rollin would not hear of it. By dispersing them indi- 
vidual influence will be lost, and the candidates of the 
Radical papers be assured of success. The workmen 
opposed their passing on the Quai, and their own 
General, Courtais, called them emeutiers, and ordered 
them to disperse. This they refused to do, and a 
grenadier of the ist Legion (some say Mons. de la 
Redoete) dragged him from his horse, tore off his 
epaulets, and broke his sword. How is all this to 
end ? I am afraid in disbanding the ist Legion, and 
then this whole quartier^ certainly the richest in Paris, 
will be entirely in the hands of the mob. I suppose 
something is apprehended shortly, as cartridges are 
being distributed to the National Guard, who, till now, 
were merely considered as a moral force. Three white 
flags were hoisted on Thursday, but decidedly without 
any real object ; it was, as it were, to feel public opinion, 
and was not done by persons of note. Some people 
even think it is a device of Caussidi^re, who loves 
rapine and bloodshed, to cause a rush on the Faubourg 
St. Germain. Be that as it may, it certainly had that 



54 PARIS IN '48. [March i8th. 

efFect, for the street cry yesterday was " A bas les aris- 
tocrats." There are many strange features in the mob, 
and not the least strange is the vast concourse of priests 
who join in every demonstration. I think they are 
wrong, for the day is not far distant when the retrench- 
ments meditated by the Government will reach the 
clergy, and then they will attempt to upset their own 
idol, and perhaps religion will again go over in the 
struggle. The Due de Bordeaux has written to 
Madame L6vis, requesting that his name may not even 
be pronounced, but the Legitimists, like every other 
party, are not unanimous, and the Abb6 de Genoude 
is carrying on a most useless agitation a great deal too 
soon.^ 

Nothing can be attempted with any chance of success 
unless by the National Assembly, and I greatly fear 
this will not meet until late in May. Lamartine has 
promised to adhere to the original intention of the 

^ De Genoude, who was at first a Voltairian, became a Churchman and 
took up politics. At the advice of Madame de Stael he offered his services to 
the Prince de Polignac, who employed him as aide-de-camp and sent him 
to collect the reinforcements promised by Switzerland to the Comte d'Artois. 
After Waterloo he became a journalist, and translated the Bible, for which 
work he received a pension from Louis Philippe. In 1830 he joined the 
Opposition to Louis Philippe. He edited the important Gazette de France, 
and supported universal suffrage. He became a priest on the death of his 
wife in 1834; he died in 1849, after being thrown over by the Royalist 
party which he had helped to divide. 



March i8th.] ILL-SELECTED CANDIDATES. SS 

20th of April, but Ledru Rollin, backed by the work- 
men with whom he can do anything, intends to put it 
off a month. This is merely to prolong his own dic- 
tatorship, which will be impossible if there is any sense 
or dignity left in the * Constituante.' In the mean- 
time he is paying his debts, and, for the purpose, he has 
seized on the money subscribed for the wounded, thus 
destroying Mademoiselle Ozy's last hope. After the 
Revolution, she said : " II n'y a plus de Russes, plus 
d'Anglais, plus de banquiers ; il faut se faire entretenir 
par un blesse." Besides these 500,000 fr., he got 
400,000 from the treasury, which caused Goudchaux 
who is an honest man, to resign. 

The greatest confusion prevails in all departments. 
The delegates of the Republic are, many of them, very 
ill-chosen, and meet with very bad receptions in the 
provinces. The one sent to Amiens turned out to be 
a convict ; the delegate of Le Mans was mad, and would 
dance the polka in the market place with the mayor ; 
and at Agen two arrived at the same time, with the 
same credentials, and had to fight it out. The diplo- 
matic appointments are as yet few in number : Mons. 
d'Arcourt goes to Berlin, Mons. Delacour to Vienna, 
Mons. de Lurde to the Hague, Mons. de Reculot to 
Constantinople. I don't fancy you will like him, for I 



S6 PARIS IN '48. [March i8th. 

think him very disagreeable and sans gene ; but then I was 
some days with him in a country house, which is very 
different from * des rapports internationaux.' It seems 
strange that an ambassador should remain here to 
balance Mons. Cotter's importance in London. Every 
one is going ; Lady Cowley, the Grahams and Saloos 
went yesterday, so did the Villars, Standishes, and every 
one who could disclaim French nationality. All the 
foreign ministers are sending their wives and children 
away, so we shall be all alone this summer. I cannot 
tell you how much Guizot is blamed by all parties, 
and how thoroughly inconvenant his going about in 
London is thought, I saw a very well-informed person 
yesterday, who told me that the late movement was 
in a great measure to be attributed to the Duchesse 
d'Orleans. Affirst this seemed most strange, but many 
circumstances lead me to think that this opinion is 
not without foundation. Her constant associates were 
Thiers, Remusat, and Duvergier de Hauranne, the 
great promotors of the banquet ; their wives were the 
most frequent visitors at the Pavilion Marsan, and 
the King had the greatest dread of her and her coterie.^ 

1 Duvergier de Hauranne may be characterised by his toast " a ]a 
Souverainete Nationale et au Rol Constitutionnel ; " he was a moderate 
constitutional reformer under the Monarchy, but after its fall he adopted a 
more conservative attitude. 



March i8th.] INTRIGUES OF THE DUCHESS. 57 

If the Regency as appointed by law had been pro- 
claimed, then the Due de Nemours was the person, but 
how was she substituted at the last moment, and why 
was his unpopularity taken for granted by his own 
family ? Then she was prepared, and had a written 
speech which she meant to read at the Chamber, and 
it is impossible she should have composed this in the 
dire confusion of that last hour, when ministries, and 
thrones, and dynasties were disappearing every minute. 
Another curious circumstance is her going to Ger- 
many and separating herself from her people. If this 
is true, she certainly is very ambitious and intriguante^ 
and of course we shall have conspiracies innumerable. 
Madame Adelaide, whose sagacity and shrewdness are 
undeniable, never liked her, and perhaps she was right.^ 
I tell you all rumours, as I think some may tend to 
throw light on the late events, by far the most extra- 
ordinary of modern times. Just at present nothing is 
doing, so I have nothing to relate ; I can only tell you 
that there is a slow current of dissatisfaction pervading 
all classes, that commerce and society are at an end, 
that the streets swarm with beggars, that the last 



* The Duchesse d'Orleans was Princess Helcne of Mecklenburg ; she 
was the widow of the eldest son of Louis Philippe ; he was killed in a 
carriage accident in '42. 



58 PARIS IN '48. [March i8th. 

demonstration of operatives caused fifteen thousand 
passports to be taken out yesterday. The price of 
gold is raised to 150 fr. a thousand — that is, 3 fr. on 
every napoleon, and the late law obliges no one to 
give more than 100 fr. in silver. Such facts speak 
volumes, and the lower classes are already declaring 
that they will not take the lOO-franc notes, which 
they compare to the assignats of which their fathers 
still speak with a shudder. To every one who says 
France is quiet, say it is not ; it is true that blood 
does not flow in the streets, and that life is not 
menaced, but what Emile de Girardin calls " la 
corruption de la peur " is everywhere. There are 
fifty-two clubs in Paris, some Communist, others 
clamouring for another * Comite de Salut public ; ' at 
one of these, two hundred heads were asked for, but 
an orator of some weight prevented all deliberation by 
crying out : " Un instant, je suis chapelier." A bon- 
mot may do for once, but there always was a great 
contempt for life in France, and now that all enjoyment 
is at an end, I think it will only increase.^ Ledru 

1 At this period there were in Paris no less than 276 clubs. Blanqiii 
founded the first, which was named after him and was Communistic ; its 
meetings were held at the Conservatoire. The Government thought it 
safer to countenance the clubs, and the Mayor of Paris placed rooms in 
various public buildings at their disposal. 



March 25th.] DISQUIETING SYMPTOMS. 59 

Rollin and Caussldi^re are both bloodthirsty, but as 
yet they are greatly outnumbered. If the National 
Assembly is firm and not overruled by the masses, 
things may right a little ; but no one, no not even the 
members of the Government, has the slightest data to 
go upon with an electoral system so entirely new. If 
you have the last number of the Revue des deux 
MondeSj read Michel Chevalier's article on the 
organisation of labour ; it contains a curious aperfu of 
the result Communism would have in France. 

P.S. — If any one says I write broken English, do 
explain my antecedents ; my life in English is one 
continued translation. 



XI. 

March 25th. 

. . . Will you, however, be so kind as to send 
money for her journey ? I would most willingly 
advance it, but even crowns are at a ruinous rate, 
and English money is hors de prix. As much as 
2 8 fr. is given for a sovereign ; and French paper, 
notwithstanding its being made legal tender, is at such 
a discount that the loss would be very great. A 500- 
franc note cannot be changed under 20 fr. ; add to this 



6o PARIS IN '48. [March 25th. 

the premium on English, and you will see that the 
difference is most absurd. If you have an opportunity, 
send sovereigns, if not, a note cut in halves, and she 
shall account to you for the balance. No banker, not 
even Rothschild, will give money on a letter of credit ; 
and any other through whom you might transmit this 
small sum, has every chance of failing in the interval 
between our letters. Even the Bank of France must 
end by a partial bankruptcy ; it is hoped this will fall 
only on the Treasury bonds and the floating debt, but 
everything goes so fast that the whole may go over 
literally any day. There is a childish aversion to paper 
money, and an idiotic fondness for glittering crowns or 
napoleons that would be really comical if it were not 
the forerunner of utter ruin. It is very evident that 
when notes are discredited they are slowly coming 
down to the standard of the old assignats, and all the 
plate that the timid, or rather the large majority of the 
nation, are pouring into the Mint, will only add to the 
hoards, and by no means increase the circulation. It is 
a very sad state of things, and I fear a very hopeless 
one ; the expenses of the present Government are 
enormous, their resources very inferior to those of the 
Monarchy, and these were inadequate but greatly eked 
out by confidence and ignorance. Now every one 



Mar. 25th.] OPPOSITION IN THE PROVINCES. 61 

has read the financial report, every one sees what is 
wanted, and no one on earth knows where to look for 
it ; the additional tax of 45 centimes is found so 
insufficient that they are going to add ^^ more per 
cent., thus doubling the actual heavy charges on 
property. Another contribution is also required for 
establishing something similar to the London police, 
and we all know a mob here will murder or drown an 
unarmed constable, but never obey him, therefore this 
is a most useless burden. 

All these charges amount almost to confiscation, 
and all those who have a mortgage on their property 
will assuredly not be able to live upon it ; the 
provinces are decidedly hostile, not only to these 
additional taxes, but to the whole system ; they are 
beginning to doubt the advantages of centralisation, 
and to resist vehemently the establishment of the 
National Assembly at Paris. Many candidates have 
been distinctly told that the suffrages of their com- 
patriots will be conditional on their refusing to sit in 
the capital. Bourges or Orleans is talked of, but I 
still think that for this once it will be here. We shall 
see how 900 men can deliberate under the control of 
4000 armed spectators, backed by an outdoor mob of 
200,000 more. I went last night to a sitting of the 



62 PARIS IN '48. [March 25th. 

Club des Prevoyans, where the merits of the candi- 
dates for Paris were discussed, and it was a most 
curious sight. The meeting was held in an ecole 
communale^ and presided over, like the Deputies, by 
a bureau and president, with a bell but no eau 
sucree. I asked if I might come in, and was told : 
" Comment done, nous sommes bien heureux quand il 
nous vient des dames." The place was crowded to 
excess with workmen and some tolerably well-dressed 
men ; the former were far more civil than gentlemen 
would have been ; they made room for me on a bench, 
and cried " Chapeau bas " to those who prevented me 
from seeing the speakers by keeping their hats on. 
The candidates proposed were Mons. Degousee, 
Mons. Coquerel (of the Oratoire), and a saddler of the 
name of Fortune. The latter was called upon to 
expound his opinions, but he was not eloquent, and 
got sorely puzzled when asked to explain the organisa- 
tion of labour. A barrister named Mons. Baud made 
a very brilliant speech, full of compliments to the 
candidate but knocking his candidature to pieces. It 
is curious to see the strong sense that pervades the 
masses, and the quick intelligence they have of noble 
sentiments. Mons. Baud's homage to intellectual 
capacity, couched in high-flown language, was received 



March 25th.] DISTRUST OF COMMUNISM. 63 

with the greatest enthusiasm, and when he asked 
whether Fortune was a Communist, the deprecation of 
the very word from all parts of the Assembly was most 
deafening. A white blouse next me said : " Le 
communisme c'est la morale des faineans ; un brave 
travailleur ne voudra jamais ni partager ce qu'il gagne, 
ni manger ce qu'il ne gagne pas." The sense of the 
ridiculous is very strong, and the poor saddler was 
tremendously laughed at. Educated men have by far 
the best chances, and many workmen are animated by 
the sincerest wish to restore peace and order. One 
man only was violent, but he was not well received ; 
the question put was : " If the National Assembly 
adopts some form of government not Republican, what 
is to be done } " This man answered : " Si I'Assemblee 
n'est pas Republicaine, il faudra la purger avec des 
balles. J'en ai trois cents, et je la purgerai." I am 
told the Prevoyans is one of the mildest clubs, and 
I am most anxious to see another, but I don't know 
whether I can get Adolphe to take me, and I have no 
other person enterprising and respectable enough to go 
with. In these times of universal calamity, one feels a 
sort of vague apprehension, as if one's turn was at 
hand. I cannot tell you how much I wish M. was 
not here ; she has a good deal of passive courage, but 



64 PARIS IN '48. [March 25th. 

she has not physical powers equal to any sudden move, 
and if there were a rush of the mob, I should hardly 
know what to do with her. For my own part, I fear 
nothing, and though I have not the pretension to 
stem the tide of panic, I think a few more calm persons 
might really do good. At all events, I know my poor 
sister is so harassed with anxiety about her husband, 
so alarmed at the ruin she foresees for her children, 
that if I were not here to cheer and comfort her, I 
don't know what would become of her. One gets 
accustomed to everything in time, and since we have 
got on so far without any government, or rather 
without a plan, and without laws, I hope we may get 
on until the meeting of this gigantic Assembly. We 
are told that the nine have agreed that they shall 
remain equal, consequently a president is not to be 
thought of, and we are to have this governing council 
imposed upon us in spite of the will of the Nation, 
should the said Nation be wise enough to object to the 
multitude of tyrants. The papers found, both at the 
Tuileries and at the Ministries, have compromised so 
many persons, that I believe the men in power can 
rule every one by a mere show of their own hand- 
writing. Thiers is so frightened at the revelations 
about himself, that he rather deprecates being called to 



March 25th.] COMPROMISING LETTERS. 65 

the Assembly. Mons. Genie, Guizot's chef de cabinet 
is implicated in an affair of bribery for 800,000 fr., 
and half the employes having bought their places, are to 
be turned out. The indictment of Libri, for theft in 
the library of which he was keeper, is signed Hebert, 
and bears the memorandum, " Ne pas poursuivre pour 
motif politique. — Guizot." This shielding of a 
common thief is really incredible, as well as many other 
things that have come to light. The Due de Mont- 
pensier's correspondence with Spain to bring about an 
abdication and get his wife proclaimed, was actually in 
the hands of a doctor named Cerise, and it is said it 
was communicated to England.^ Others affirm that it 
was forwarded to Madrid, and that the Prince will be 
very ill received there ; an outbreak is apprehended in 
Spain as well as in Portugal, and in fact I believe that 
the Sublime Porte will indeed shortly be the Asylum of 
the Universe. The King's daily instructions to Guizot 
have been found, and all the obnoxious expressions of 
" passions ennemies, manifestations haineuses," etc., 
are suggested to the minister by his wily master.^ All 



1 The Due de Montpensier had married the Infanta Luisa, sister of the 
young Queen Isabella. 

2 These words were used by Louis Philippe in his address from the 
Throne on the 27th of December, 1847 ; taken in conjunction witlr his 



66 PARIS IN '48. [March 31st. 

this about the letters is true, for the man who gave me 
these details has been himself a minister, and was sent 
for on the night of the 23rd to form part of the new 
Cabinet. 

Everything that seemed impossible has happened, 
so let us hope that something improbable will occur 
to save the country ; even my spirits are failing, and 
the very aspect of the desolate streets and of the bands 
of idle workmen in the Tuileries and on the boulevards, 
destroys all one's enjoyment. I am so often inter- 
rupted during the day, that I am scribbling this third 
instalment about one in the morning, and I am very 
sleepy and stupid. 

XII. 

March 31st. 

. . .It will be the greatest use to me to have gold, 
as it is almost impossible to get change of any kind, 
and in the event of a sudden move (which many think 
may be necessary) it would be excessively difficult to 
collect funds. ... I can give you but a gloomy 
account of politics, and what is worse finance. I 
believe we are much nearer bankruptcy than we were 

determined opposition to the most pressing reforms, they roused strong 
popular indignation. 



March 3ist.] TREES OF LIBERTY. 67 

last week, and the most arbitrary measures cannot even 
put off the evil day. The Bank of France has had 
six thousand bills refused this last week, and the rest 
of its acceptances are probably not worth more ; the 
few bankers who still hold on, do no business ; a friend 
of mine at Rome cannot get a farthing, and a man 
I know tried in vain to send 500 fr. to England 
yesterday. Mons. Cabarrus spoke to Lamartine about 
the financial crisis and he answered : " Quand done 
cessera-t-on d'avoir ces ignobles preoccupations mate- 
rielles ; quand done les peuples comprendront-ils la 
grande loi de la fraternite sans arriere pensee ignoble ^ 
Dieu merci, je n'entends rien aux finances, je n'y songe 
meme pas ! " Meanwhile, as though there were not 
ways enough to squander Me fond du sac,' we have 
got trees of Liberty planting every day, and each 
mayor gives 20 fr. a tree, which, added to the sums 
extorted from the timid, enables the idle to get im- 
moderately drunk, and to fire off quantities of guns 
every evening. Eight hundred trees have been planted 
this week, and some one in the street who was grum- 
bling (as every one is now), said yesterday : " Paris est 
une vraie foret, pis que la fordt de Bondy," whose 
bad reputation is, you know, proverbial. After these 
trees are planted, two leaves ouvriers, fully armed, 



68 PARIS IN '48. [March 31st. 

beg vigorously, striking the pavement with their 
muskets, and they actually go into the houses that are 
left open, to frighten even misers into generosity. 
Towards evening, about a dozen or perhaps twenty boys 
under twelve rush about screaming : " Des lampions 
ou je pillons," or, "gare la cour de cassation," and 
every one, to save their windows, sticks candles into 
bottles and illuminates vigorously. I am proud to say 
we did not illuminate, and though the collectors for 
the nearest tree almost dropped their muskets on my 
feet, I did not give them anything. Louis Blanc is 
beginning to lose ground with his brothers ; he has 
even been nicknamed ' Chou Blanc,' and you know 
* faire chou blanc ' is a slang expression equivalent to 
the * far fiasco ' of the Italians. I suppose we shall 
soon hear of his suicide, as he has sworn to blow his 
brains out if he fails in organising labour, and that 
neither he nor any one else can hope to do. There 
was a Communist conspiracy against the Provisional 
Government last week, but it was discovered and 
frustrated. The intention was to take all the members 
at once, and finish them off without a scaffold, so as 
to leave the reins of Government to Cabet and his 
friend Blanqui.^ 

1 Cabet was an idealist who wrote the " Voyage en Icarie " In illustration 



March 31st.] ATTACK ON DE GIRARDIN. 69 

Since execution for political offences has been 
abolished, the Government has invented most ingeni- 
ous punishments. One man who on the taking of 
the Prefecture was discovered by the registers to have 
betrayed them, was put in prison with no food and a 
loaded pistol. I do not vouch for the truth of this, 
but every one believes it, and no one attempts to 
investigate it, which shows how thoroughly every one 
is paralysed by fear. Yesterday there was a violent 
attack upon Emile de Girardin, who certainly does use 
the Presse most vigorously, and tells truth literally to 
the million. No paper is so universally read ; it is not 
only one of the best but it is very cheap and is hawked 
about by the wives and children of the workmen who, 

of his social doctrines. He preached a return to primitive morality in 
accordance with the Gospel, and advocated voluntary renunciation and 
gradual abolition of property. His idea was embodied in the phrase "to 
provide for each individual according to his needs, not his earning capacity." 
In '48 he founded in Texas an " Icarian " community, where he attempted 
to put his Utopian ideas in practice. Blanqui, who was bom at Nimes in 
1805, was a thorough-going conspirator ; between 1835 ^"^ his death in 
1 88 1 he suffered thirty-seven years of imprisonment. At the very outset of 
the Revolution of February, he determined to overthrow the Provisional 
Government because it adopted the tricolour instead of the red flag ; the 
authorities were, however, too strong for him, and his following of despe- 
radoes had to disperse. He was active during all the phases of the Revolution 
of '48, in which he represented extreme Communism. Both Lamartine and 
Ledru Rollin tried to use him, but found it impossible to work with him. 
He was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his share in the 15th 
of May. 



70 PARIS IN '48. [March 31st. 

being associated with the editor, have an interest in 
spreading it far and wide ; this does not suit Ledru 
Rollin who Is supposed to direct these attacks by main 
force, and many persons believe Mons. de Girardin will 
be assassinated. Forty men guarded his house the night 
before last, while he wrote one of those bitter articles 
that are so obnoxious to the self-instituted rulers. I 
never see two men talking In the street without feeling 
sure that they are conspiring : every one belongs to 
some conspiracy and makes no secret of It. If they 
were only unanimous, we should see the mightiest 
convulsion that ever shook an empire ; but alas, there 
is no chief, and all this will produce perpetual broils, 
some bloodshed, but no permanent change. Lamoriclere 
might play the part of Monk, but for whom } The 
Due de Bordeaux is Insignificant and stigmatised as 
an Austrian, and the Comte de Paris Is a mere child. 
I believe there is now no manner of doubt that the 
Due de Montpensier is a foolish young rogue who has 
intrigued against every one even his own father, and 
that he is equally despised by all parties, both in 
France and Spain ; we hear some rumour of a revolu- 
tion at Madrid, but that may only be the echo of the 
European movement. The Belgians who were sent 
from here to get them out of the way, have made 



March 3ist.] MOTLEY PROCESSIONS. 71 

rather an unlucky campaign into their native land, but 
it has ended in the recall of the Ambassador ; it is 
said that Austria, Bavaria, and Prussia have also ceased 
their diplomatic relations, as the instigators of all the 
outbreaks are French, but this I do not know for 
certain. Nothing can be more disagreeable than the 
streets just now ; at one corner you find a dense crowd 
planting the Tree of Liberty and screaming the refrain 
des Girondins ; you turn through some less frequented 
quarter, and you meet thousands of urchins dressed 
like soldiers shouting the Marseillaise ; these are the 
foundlings of Paris. A little further a couple of 
thousand women march past, bearing the tricolour 
with the inscription * Vesuviennes,' and I believe it 
is better not to inquire the nature of their avocations. 
In the Champs Elysdes, you meet the Germans with 
three feathers in their caps and two flags, one French 
tricolour, the other red, black, and gold, and I don't 
understand a word they say. If any one likes to 
explore farther, they may run against the Polish Legion, 
or the Italian refugees, or the journeymen bakers, or 
the water-carriers, all requiring some political privilege. 
Yesterday being the mi-careme^ all the flower-girls on 
the boulevards wore black velvet masks, low gowns 
and pearl necklaces, flowers in their hair, and egregiously 



72 PARIS IN '48. [March 31st. 

short petticoats ; I strongly suspect that the boulevards 
will become what the Palais Royal was when I was a 
child, only that under the reign of Liberty ' tous les 
commerces se feront a toutes heures.' It is a very 
deplorable state of things, and all enjoyment here is 
at an end. Few people are as expert as my sister and 
I, but it really becomes impossible to thread our way 
through the immense crowd of idlers that block up 
every thoroughfare. Everything tends to increase this 
confusion ; the placards on the walls, the tumblers in 
the streets, the roulettes on the quals^ and the hawking 
about of newspapers. Yesterday I bought Raspail's 
Ami du 'Peuple^ journal Maratiste^ and the Reforme^ Ledru 
Rollin's own organ ; also La Voix des Femmes^ which is 
sanguinary without ideas or eloquence. Do you care 
to see any of these effusions } They never are copied 
into other papers, but they sometimes are curious ; 
nothing is so easy as to forward them the next day if 
you like. There are quantities of caricatures and vile 
libels, without esprit or probability, circulated concern- 
ing Louis Philippe . and Guizot ; some about the 
Sovereign People are rather better. In one a delegate 
of the travailleurs (ouvriers is rather low) goes to the 
Hotel de Ville and asks for the moon in the name 
of equality ; the secretary (a bad likeness of Recurt) 



March 31st.] CORRESPONDENCE CENSORED. 73 

answers: "Votre demande sera transmisa au citoyen 
Arago, qui avisera aux moyens de la satisfaire." We 
are not very far from the time of the Comite de Salut 
Public, for though we have not got the guillotine, we 
have les suspects. A lady I know has been in the habit 
of receiving every Wednesday morning a vast number 
of acquaintances, sometimes forty or fifty a day, and 
as her name is Legitimist and her entourage rather that 
way inclined, her landlord has ordered her to suspend 
these ' meetings,' which have a dangerous tendency ! 
The porter who announced this decree, with a grin 
added : " C'est bien fait, car vos dames a panache ne se 
donnaient seulement pas la peine de saluer ma femme." 
This is liberty. I am told that letters are opened, and 
if they do not express admiration they are suppressed, 
but I do not care ; if they won't allow me to write I 
will print, and the liberty of the press is up to the 
present the only one that is real. I wish I had a 
thousand pens to spread abroad the horror of the 
Republic ! I wish all who talk, and bluster, and hail 
this Revolution could be brought over to taste its 
fruits for a week : they would see that ruin and 
misery and personal violence are its only results ; that 
tyranny, even admitting that it existed, has only been 
displaced and now rests upon brute force, and that the 



74 PARIS IN '48. [April 3rd. 

extravagance of the Republicans leads to bankruptcy 
much faster than the prodigalities of Monarchy. A row 
is expected on the 5th, but I don't exactly know why. 
At the preparatory elections of the National Guard 
many have been sworn to upset this Government, no 
matter at what cost ; I think it would be foolish, as it 
could only be to the profit of the Communists. It is 
a great pity the elections have been put off, as it is 
impossible anything now existing can hold out another 
month. What dreadful news from Ireland ! I dread 
a rebellion, and I know the rebels will be helped from 
here, as Lamartine's sympathy is thought very sterile 
by his more violent colleagues. We must hope for 
the best, but we cannot but know that we are hoping 
against all probability, and that all our chance for the 
future is between anarchy at home and war abroad. 
I hardly know how to write now ; the excitement is 
so great that it is impossible to do anything calmly, 
and I am afraid I try your powers of deciphering most 
cruelly. 

XIII. 

April 3rd. 

Will you excuse my enclosing two letters to you 
to-day } I find Irish correspondence is most uncertain. 



April 3rd.] DISILLUSION. 75 

and I am very anxious to let J. hear real news of this 
country. Things are getting horribly complicated, and 
even Lamartine is beginning to wish he were a month 
older ; it is impossible this miserable Government 
should stem the tide till the 4th of May. They 
have dislocated everything, spent the public money, 
deceived the working population into the belief that a 
Republic meant universal happiness and great lots of 
pocket-money, and now they are at their wits' ends. 
The workmen are beginning to find out that meat, 
wine, and tobacco are as dear as ever, that the work- 
shops are being closed, and that when they have sold 
their guns, they may starve without hindrance from the 
popular rulers. War is now looked upon as inevi- 
table, but whether with the Austrians in Italy or the 
Belgians in support of the disbanded coachbuilders 
that were called " brothers," we know not. If the 
latter, England would interfere I suppose, but I do 
not like to think of anything beyond the present hour : 
that is bad enough in all conscience. Yesterday ten 
thousand men, some armed, headed by military cadets, 
paraded the town with a large basket, begging " pour 
les besoins de la Republique." Some one told me : 
" J'ai eu si peur que j'ai donn6 deux sous ; " and such, 
I believe, are the patriotic offerings so pompously 



76 PARIS IN '48. [April 5th. 

proclaimed in the official journals. I believe that Ledru 
Rollin has been wiser than Louis Philippe, and has 
already sent about ;C4000 to England out of his 
* savings ' during the last five weeks at the Ministry 
of the Interior. Lamartine and Garnier Pages take 
no salaries, neither does Louis Blanc nor I believe 
Albert ; but Cremieux and Flocon are making hay 
rapidly during the very short sunshine they anticipate. 
It is said there will be a Communist movement on the 
5th, but fortunately for us Blanqui, one of the prime 
leaders, has just been proved a traitor, and has lost the 
confidence of his club. I believe Caussidiere will con- 
trive his suicide very shortly. I am getting horribly 
out of spirits, because I see every chance of order 
successively thrown overboard. I h^ve no personal 
fears, but I am sorry a country I loved so dearly, and 
where I have my dearest ties, should be so hopelessly 
lost. Do not consider this a letter ; I really cannot 
write to-day ; I have seen too many ruined men to be 
able to think calmly of anything. 

XIV. 

April 5th. 

... I still trust we may not be forced to accept 
your offer, and that we may meet upon the far 



April 5th.l FEELING OF INSECURITY. 77 

pleasanter footing of your visit to Paris instead of our 
flight to London ; but even the most sanguine begin 
to say : *' Cela se gate." Most horribly complicated it 
certainly is, and as each day adds to the number of 
workmen without employment and servants without 
places, I can only foresee an increase in the elements 
of disorder. ... I cannot describe to you the con- 
tempt I feel for those who leave a sinking vessel ; of 
course I mean Frenchmen, for I am not surprised at 
foreigners wishing to leave a place where the only 
possible distraction is a change of government, and the 
only agrement an emeute. When I look back six 
weeks I can hardly believe it is the same place ; I can 
hardly fancy I ever could have liked to live here. It 
certainly is curious and exciting, but in the long run 
the anxiety is most wearing, and the panic terror of 
all one sees is really infectious. If you pay a visit, 
you find a lady with very dirty hands who has just 
been grubbing a hole in her garden for her diamonds ; 
in the street you meet a ruined man in a cab ; he stops 
to explain this apparent extravagance, and to say he 
was taking his forks and spoons to the mint. We all 
wear thick shoes, carry an umbrella, and try to look 
as much like our own portieres as we can. There are 
no private carriages left, and even livery stablemen 



78 PARIS IN '48. [April 5th. 

have been obliged to give up the old plan, and let out 
vehicles by the hour " comme un ignoble fiacre," as 
Vidie our man says. All the great tradesmen are 
gone or going to London ; not only those you 
mention, but Moubro, Froment, Meurice, and many 
others are taking all their best things over ; I do not 
wonder at it, when no one seems to doubt that there 
will be at least partial pillage. 

It is impossible the present state of things should 
go on long ; the Treasury, in spite of the exorbitant 
taxes and the adjournment of all payment, is nearly 
empty and the subsidies to the workmen must cease ; 
in this event they will certainly break into shops, and 
perhaps it might be as well this should happen soon, 
as nothing but personal losses will ever stimulate the 
National Guard to action. A most dangerous decree 
is in contemplation — that is, to allow house to house 
requisitions ; armed men will be authorised to levy 
contributions, and though at first they will be civil of 
course, they must ultimately become savage, and at 
all events it will lead to a scientific system of depre- 
dation, not an indiscriminate rush into all houses. 
This will be unjust even according to their own 
standard of fraternity, for many of the best-furnished 
houses are occupied by people with the smallest real 



April 5th.] SCARCITY OF MONEY. 79 

fortunes. The want of ready money is really painful 
to see, and leads to immense sacrifices ; our landlord 
has given us a reduction of 40 per cent, on our rent 
(for the present), on consideration of six months paid 
in advance. My losses at the Blounts' may be very 
serious, I mean for me, as what I gave ^^500 for in 
January, will now probably be purchased by the State 
or rather exchanged for 5 per cent, at par ; now, as I 
purchased at a premium and the fives are down at 
52, you see I must lose at least half my outlay ; what 
I had in the bank was comparatively trifling, as I was 
at the end of my half year. My great distress is for 
poor E., who will be deprived of every comfort by 
this sad state of things ; the great bulk of her husband's 
property was a large house containing nineteen apart- 
ments and four shops ; seven of the apartments have 
become vacant since last February, the tenants of the 
others have insisted on a reduction, and the shops are 
decidedly failing. Add to this that they have been 
forced to pay the increased taxes for the whole year, and 
that they have no legal means of recovering a debt 
owed to them, and you will understand what a 
difference that must make in a small fortune. She 
bears it very well ; indeed I have heard no woman 
complain ; Madame Decazes bears up under a load of 



8o PARIS IN 48. [April sth. 

anxiety seemingly too great for human endurance ; 
Mrs. Blount goes further and is hopeful of better 
days ; and poor Madame de Rambuteau, infirm and 
pillaged, does not murmur at her altered fortunes. 
Every one is hit in some way or other, and even those 
who had spread their fortunes all over Europe, do not 
know where to look with confidence on their invest- 
ments. Madame Samoiloff has her colossal fortune 
divided between French funds and Milanese estates : 
is not that a pleasant position } We had a line from 
Milan yesterday containing the sad news that a very 
great friend of ours, an Austrian diplomatist, was in 
prison there ; he says he is well treated, but so many 
of the Lombardi remember the Spielberg that I fear 
they will not easily let out an emissary of Metternich. 
There is a great talk of war here, not among the well- 
informed or those in power, but it is the buzz of the 
boulevards, the theme of every cafe and corps-de-garde. 
Yesterday I got mixed up in the crowd that was 
going to plant a Tree of Liberty at the corner of the Rue 
Neuve St. Augustin, nearly opposite your old house, , 
and as I could neither get back nor forward, I went up 
to a window to hear the speeches. They were all 
tending to rehabilitate the army, and the peroration was : 
" Jurons sur I'arbre sacre de la liberte de maintenir 



April 5th.] THEATRICAL SCENES. 8i 

I'integrite de nos fronti^res ! " The popular cry- 
on this occasion was * Vive la ligne ! ' and the song, 
not the Girondins^ but the Chant du Depart^ which 
distinguished the celebrated campaigns of Italy. I 
cannot help agreeing at last with the English, and 
allowing that this is a most theatrical nation ; imagine 
an old man whose son had been shot at that very spot 
on the 23rd of February, being dragged out and made 
to say that he saw with proud gratification the Tree of 
Liberty spring from the blood of his murdered son ! 
He then blew his nose, and a boy who was with him 
began to hug the tree, which not being firmly planted 
shook most ominously. I could not help thinking 
that, like the children of beggarwomen and the 
mothers of actresses, the father and brother were hired 
for the occasion. The clergy of the Madeleine blessed 
the poplar, and all the brigands who compose Colonel 
Key's troop at the Hotel de Ville fired off their 
muskets ; it was here that I for the first time saw the 
carmagnole and the bonnet rouge. Caussidiere's mounted 
police wear a red peaked cap and a red sash which 
looks bad enough, but some of the volunteers and one 
woman had the regular Phrygian cap, the same that 
was the rallying sign of '93. All this looks very bad, 
for though it is only a caricature of the dreadful 

G 



82 PARIS IN '48. [April 5th. 

Revolution, still it familiarises one with its emblems, and 
hurries the people down the political torrent. I wanted 
to send you Raspail's Ami du Peuple^ but could not get 
it yesterday ; but I have just posted La Democratie 
pacifiquey the Communist paper, the Liherte^ and the 
Republique, rather well written, violent compositions. 
To-morrow I shall try for the Reforme to which 
Ledru RoUin belongs, and the National a very pre- 
judiced but remarkable organ of Government. If I 
can find the Atelier^ exclusively written by workmen 
and edited by a shoemaker, you shall have that too, 
and you will be surprised at its moderation and 
eloquence. 

Every one is talking of the discoveries made in 
the different Ministries, and of the number of names 
compromised in the list of secret services. I cannot help 

thinking that something of the kind has induced 

to fly precipitately to Bruxelles, after sending in what 
is called an * adhesion chalereuse ' to the Provisional 
Government as soon as he heard by telegraph of its ap- 
pointment. Madame de Courbonne remains here with « 
houses unlet, rentes in jeopardy, and a diminished salon, 
so you may imagine her state of mind. The Apponys 
go next week ; they calculate upon a loss of two-thirds 
of their private fortune, besides the cessation of their 



April 5th.] IRISH DISTURBANCES. 83 

career. I dare not think of Ireland ; it seems to me 
impossible that it should not follow the fate of all 
Europe ; it is as full of bad elements as any part of 
the Continent, and how can it escape ? Lamartine's 
answer was good and clever, but it will not reach 
where it ought ; the chiefs will interpret it for the 
benefit of the lower orders who are so easily misled 
to evil, and then comes civil war. J. writes very 
gloomily ; ^ he is determined to send Sarah and the 
boy to England, and to fight with the loyal side to the 
very last ; you may imagine how uneasy we shall be. 
I have this instant received your yesterday's letter and 
the accompani ng rouleau, for which I return you a million 
of thanks ; it may be of the utmost importance in the 
event of pillage to be able to carry all one's fortune in 
one's pocket. To-day is that fixed for the elections to 
the National Guard, and a Communist movement is 
greatly feared ; all pickets are doubled. As I am 
afraid of missing to-day's post, I must conclude in 
great haste. 

1 From Ireland. 



84 PARIS IN '48. [April 7th. 



XV. 

Friday, April 7th. 

... I have subscribed to the Atelier^ a weekly- 
paper written wholly by workmen, and I believe it is 
very curious ; if worth sending, you shall have that 
too ; to-day I sent the Presse, yesterday the National 
and the Reforme. Sometimes I may not be able to 
forward them the day of publication as the post-ofRce 
which is rather a confederate of the editors, will only 
take them in up to twelve o'clock. I have no news 
to-day ; the elections of the National Guard have 
absorbed all our thoughts, but they though most 
important have no significance beyond our walls. 
Great threats were used towards Mons. de Tracy,^ 
and some very base manoeuvres to carry off votes 
from him ; but he was named Colonel of our legion 
by a most triumphant majority. Numerous petitions 

^ De Tracy, who was the son of the philosopher of that name, had a 
military career under Napoleon I., and distinguished himself in Spain. In 
1 8 1 6 he retired and took up scientific studies. He belonged to the extreme 
Left, and championed all liberal measures, including that for evacuating 
Algiers. In '48 he was Colonel of the ist Legion of the National Guard, 
and deputy to the Assembly 5 there he voted with the Right except con- 
cerning the banishment of the Orleans family and the death-penalty for 
political offences. He was Minister of Marine in December, 1848, and 
joined in the protest against the Coup d'Etat. 



April 7th.] REVOLUTIONARY MANIFESTO. 85 

are being got up against him because he is merely a 
Republican, and not a revolutionnaire. By-the-by, I 
was reading yesterday Carnot's circular to his pro- 
consuls in '93—94, and it was as like Ledru Rollin's as 
possible ; there is the same assumption of unlimited 
powers, and the very words " que votre attitude soit 
non-seulement republicaine, mais revolutionnaire." I 
like reading the history of France from '89 to '95 ; it 
is so very like the present time. We are so completely 
following the same downward line, that I don't well 
see how we can get through it without the guillotine ; 
it is the only feature wanting, and in the Faubourgs 
they are rather that way inclined. A grocer, whom 
I rather know in his capacity of a National Guard, 
told me that his father-in-law, having refused to lower 
his rents in the Faubourg St. Antoine, had had a black 
flag suspended from his window with a rope by which 
they threatened to hang him. Caussidiere is very firm, 
but he cannot be everywhere, and there is some whole- 
sale murder going on every night ; the Morgue is full 
of the bodies of Savoyards, supposed to have been 
murdered by their rivals the Auvergnats. Certainly 
there is very little importance attached to human life 
in France, for these things are much less talked of than 
the King's large diamond button, which some wretch has 



86 PARIS IN '48. [April i2th. 

swallowed and Is dying of under the name of blesse de 
Fevrier: " On attend I'autopsie avec impatience." The 
adherents of the ex-King have behaved atrociously ; 
they have all given up papers, and given information 
where others could be found, besides handing over 
the proofs of all the money invested under feigned 
names, which would at least have kept them alive as 
long as these funds pay — not very long, I believe. 
Adolphe is on the list of officers, being very popular in 
the neighbourhood, and we are very anxious for the 
result of to-day's elections ; as every distinction is a 
danger we sincerely wish him to remain a full private. 



XVI. 

April 12th. 

Your letter of Monday was a great relief to my 
mind in every respect, both concerning gown, brooch, 
maid, and Chartists. From daybreak yesterday the 
newsvendors were screaming, " Incendie de Londres, 
proclamation de la Republique, et abdication de la 
Reine Victoria." I knew it was false, and that they 
could have no information ; still it had an unpleasant 
effect on one's spirits. Now I am charmed, for the 
exultation felt by many soi-disant moderate people, and 



April i2th.] MUZZLING OPPOSITION. 87 

the confidence of all In the power of propagandism is 
greatly shaken ; they must hide their diminished heads 
and look for other sources of self-gratification than any 
derived from England ; I trust the power of sense will 
extend to Ireland, and that the rebellion there will 
end like the revolution in England — in words ; these 
seem to have gone far enough in all conscience 
through the medium of Messrs. Smith O'Brien, 
Meagher & Co. I do wish they were subjected for 
a week to the iron despotism of a Provisional Govern- 
ment, and to the summary laws adopted against all 
here who venture to doubt the Republic being the 
expression of the will of the Nation. The state of 
things is like a petite piece or a novel, in which the 
hero or heroine has dropped a letter putting him or 
her in absolute dependence on some person, good or 
bad, whose tool they become, for weal or woe. Emile 
de Girardin attempted opposition, and his contract 
with M0I6 for the subvention of the Presse was 
instantly cast in his teeth. Blanqui professed most 
incendiary doctrines, and a little communication of his 
to Mons. Delessert has effectually closed his mouth. 
Napoleon Duchatel was to have been called to account 
for his administration at Toulouse, but he had all his 
brother's papers, and the Powers that Be would fain 



88 PARIS IN '48. [April i2th. 

give him a chance of employment to insure his silence. 
Lucien Delahodde a traitor has been buried lately 
without an inquest ; in fact, we have gone back to 
mediaeval times. ^ 

I cannot imagine how the sitting of the National 
Assembly can be managed. Universal suffrage is only 
reasonable when quite local ; a man may be very well 
known in his arrondissement, and may have an excel- 
lent reputation among his fellow-citizens, but unless 
he is a democratic writer in a paper of the province it 
is impossible he should be known to the whole depart- 
ment. The power in the hands of Government is 
therefore ten times more absolute than that which the 
most corrupt prefet could have secured formerly. The 
lists will come ready-made from Paris ; the peasants, the 
soldiers, and the employes will accept them blindfold ; 
and thus there will be ten electors for the whole of 
France. Indeed I think I exaggerate in giving so 



^ This was the report current at the time — the actual facts are the follow- 
ing : Delahodde, one of the editors of the Reforme and a member of the 
Societe des Droits de THomme, was secretaiy-general to the Prefecture 
of Police. Caussidiere, on looking through some reports, found one in 
which his subordinate had given information to Louis Philippe's Govern- 
ment concerning a Republican conspiracy in '38 ; he called together sixteen 
of the persons named in the report, convicted Delahodde and shut him up 
in the Conciergerie. After the fall of Caussidiere, Delahodde was liberated, 
and published a lampoon in which he took his revenge. 



April 1 2th.] LOUIS BLANC'S METHODS. 89 

large a number, for Lamartine thinks only of the 
extremities of Europe, and of his own attitude with 
respect to foreign powers. Garnier Pag^s is perfectly 
addled by the difficulty of reconstructing credit under 
such dreadful circumstances, and as to Louis Blanc, he is 
growing idiotic. His last plan of posting the names of 
idlers on a column by way of encouragement to work, 
really looks as if he were in his dotage ; I am looking 
out for his suicide, but I hardly think he will execute 
this promise any more than the rest. On the whole, 
my favourite public man is Marrast: he is bold and 
never promises what he cannot perform. I sent you 
to-day the Constitutionnel of yesterday, which contained 
some very curious documents on the Spanish mar- 
riages ; Salvandy's style will delight you, and if you 
know him you will be more than ever convinced that 
"le style c'est I'homme." It may interest you to 
know that the minister at Constantinople is to be 
General Aupick, who was at the head of the Polytechnic 
School ; I suspect him of being a fool, as he wrote a 
letter on the 23rd of February, which was found in the 
pocket of the coat left at the Deputies by the Due 
de Nemours, saying the School was well affected ! 
I presume he is genant here, for he has no diplomatic 
antecedents, and if he were useful he would not be 



90 PARIS IN '48. [April i2th. 

sent somewhere else. The Ministry of War is refused 
by every one ; no one will take the responsibility of 
managing an army which has been so demoralised that 
half the soldiers consider obedience the result of 
cowardice. Duvivier who commands the Garde 
Mobile, seems disposed to take it upon certain con- 
ditions, and that might be a good thing, as the Mobile 
is the only real force. The departments talk of con- 
stituting a body of 500 men to accompany their 
representatives to the capital, and to insure freedom of 
debate ! This would make 45,000 from the provinces, 
1 5,000 Garde Mobile, and 202,000 National Guards to 
support order. Ledru RoUin to subvert it has about 
60,000 workmen, and he may have the Garde Urbaine, 
about 3000 men. As far as numbers go, you see we 
have the best of it, but pluck is undeniably on the 
other side, and, to use Changarnier's very ridiculous 
expression (he applied it to himself), " Le peuple a 
I'habitude de vaincre." ^ 

1 General Changarnier served with distinction In Africa, and specially 
in the Arab campaign in '36. In '47 he was made Governor-General of 
Algeria on the resignation of the Due d'Aumale. He organised the mili- 
taiy operations in defence of the Hotel de Vllle on the i6th of April, '48, and 
commanded the National Guard during the June insurrection. After this 
he showed such a determined ambition to become the leader of the reaction- 
ary party, that the Ministry of Cavaignac insisted on his immediate return 
to Algiers to take up his command. 



April i2th.] PROBABLE PROGRAMME. 91 

1 believe the National Assembly will have to vote 
immediately on the expediency of bankruptcy, on the 
augmentation of the army and navy and the restoring 
of divorce, and that there will be a call for the lot 
agraire, the dream of the Communists. To-morrow I 
shall send you the Constitutionnely which contains a very 
sensible dialogue by workmen on this very subject. 
There is a great deal of power in the press, and I wish 
it were always well directed ; but alas 1 what papers are 
selling at every corner, so cheap that all may buy them, 
and so specious that they must lead many astray ! I 
suspect the priests will soon have to repent the very 
prominent part they have taken in the late events ; I 
heard a man on the quai crying out yesterday : " Voila 
ce que c'est que la religion Catholique, voici ce qu'elle 
coute ! Payez pour etre baptise, payez pour etre marie, 
pour etre enterre, et puis encore apres ! " This will 
certainly prevent many ignorant people praying for the 
dead, and that precept has, according to me, a soften- 
ing influence on all ; the * quotes pour les ames du 
purgatoire ' may be absurd and unscriptural, but how 
much the suppression of all these ceremonies will tend 
to diminish the reverence which many still feel for the 
commands of a deceased parent, and how sad it is to 
sap even the smallest part of the foundation of faith ! 



92 PARIS IN '48. [April 17th. 

This sounds very Catholic, but I am sure you will feel 
what I mean. 



XVII. 

April 17th. 

We had a most dreadful day yesterday, and although 
it ended only in what is now called a * manifestation,' it 
is impossible not to feel that there was something very 
serious under the surface. The rappel beat at one, and 
the National Guard turned out in such numbers that 
any attempt against them would have been insanity. 
During the first hour 8 5,000 got under arms, and the 
company of the Rue Miromenil (not quite 500 strong) 
turned out 425 men ; cartridges were distributed and 
they waited Varme au hras^ not exactly knowing what 
was in store but resolute to fight as soon as an adver- 
sary should appear. Dreadful rumours were afloat ; 
some said the Palais Royal was occupied by a band of 
thieves who were plundering the shops, others assured 
us that the Government was besieged in the Hotel de 
Ville. / believe that there was a conspiracy to murder 
Lamartine and depose Arago, Garnier Pages, and 
Marrast, and to place all power in the hands of Ledru 
Rollin, Cabet, and Blanqui. Communist doctrines 



April i7th.] AN ANXIOUS DAY. 93 

however have no success : Ledru Rollin saw this early 
in the day and joined the colleagues whom he meant to 
betray, so as to put himself in respectable safe-keeping ; 
Blanqui never appeared at all, and the visionary Cabet 
was nearly torn to pieces. The cry * a bas le Commu- 
nisme ' was universal, and for the present hour that 
danger is averted ; but there probably are many others 
in store, and how will moderate men be able to parry 
them all ? For my part, I know nothing more melan- 
choly than such a day as yesterday ; the most fearful 
anxiety without the excitement of a struggle, and a 
success that does not carry with it the enthusiasm of 
victory. As soon as I heard the drums and the 
rumours afloat, I went to my sister to see if I could 
be of use to the children, and to cheer her during her 
husband's absence. On the road I saw shop-keepers 
turning out with their wives and children clinging 
round them, weeping wives and melancholy shop-boys 
horribly frightened at being left alone behind the 
counters. Every National Guard seemed to be taking 
leave of his family, and as no one knew what was on 
foot the gloom was very natural. Fortunately nothing 
came of it, and I hope the anarchists will see how vain 
their efforts will prove, when such numbers of all classes 
are determined to maintain order. The newspapers 



94 PARIS IN '48. [April 17th. 

to-day give no clear account of anything. The National 
sings a Te Deum and sees the Republic honoured by 
such a levee en masse; the Constitutionnel registers 
with equal pleasure the cry of which the National takes 
no notice, * a bas le Communisme,' and the Democratie 
pacifique Cabet's own organ I have sent you. I also 
forward yesterday's Constitutionnel which contains the 
best and boldest commentary on Ledru Rollin's last 
circular. I hope you received also two letters of George 
Sand, which I sent, not for their intrinsic merit, but 
because she is supposed to have a great influence in 
the Government through Albert the soi-disant ouvrieVy 
who, having about 10,000 fr. a year, is, I presume, 
no more a working man than I am.^ There was a 
report yesterday that Louis Blanc was assassinated, but 
it is not true, and I am glad of it, not for his own sake 



1 George Sand sympathised with the economic theories of Louis Blanc 
and of Pierre Leroux j she tried to help forward the cause of the labourer 
by idealising him and his humble life both in town and country. Throw- 
ing herself into the political crusade in '48, she advocated generally Com- 
munism built upon absolute equality, but she refused to join the agitation 
for extending to women the newly-acquired civil and political rights. 

Albert was a trained mechanic who, in 1840, founded the paper called 
the Atelier. He was ,a close friend of Louis Blanc, with whom he was 
returned to the National Assembly. When the mob broke into the Hotel 
de Ville, he helped to draw up the list for a rival Government ; for this he 
was sentenced to imprisonment, and took no further part in public affairs 
till 1870. 



April 17th.] INERTIA OF LAMARTINE. 95 

but because he has not done mischief enough yet. 
His career, like that of the Republic, must be suffered 
to spend itself; if it is cut short all his partisans (and 
they would increase) would say, " Let us work out his 
system ; we have not given it a fair trial." No gene- 
rals in France have half the reputation of Hoche and 
Desaix, because they died before they had exhausted 
pubhc enthusiasm. I have left off pinning my faith to 
any individual ; my only hope lies in the good sense 
of the masses ; yesterday it shone out very gloriously. 
The troops return on Thursday, so next week we shall 
be sufficiently strong to defy a coup de main. No 
one now believes the National Assembly can meet, 
certainly not on the 4th, and yet how can the country 
go on with such chiefs ? Lamartine is not a bit 
better than the others ; he is doing no mischief, but I 
am sure he is composing an ' Ode a la Patrie ' and 
dreaming of the composition of an allegorical bas-relief 
with every country in the world, and all the blacks, 
thanking him for their intellectual emancipation. I 
saw in Galignani this morning that some Englishmen 
are going to present him with a testimonial of esteem, 
and nothing could have a worse effect ; none of his 
own acts depopularised Louis Philippe half as much as 
the fulsome praise of the English press, and our present 



96 PARIS IN '48. [April 17th. 

masters will never believe that England can admire a 
person who is not working for her. The few who 
understand the sentiment are now living in the back of 
their houses, with all their shutters towards the street 
shut, and, in general, they are not renowned for 
bravery. I am going out now to see if I can pick up 
any news, and I shall finish my letter when I come 
home. 

2 o'clock. — What I suspected is perfectly true : I 
have just heard from a person whose sources of informa- 
tion are undeniable, that the attempt of yesterday was 
most serious. Nothing but the determined attitude of 
the National Guard and the pouring in of the banlieue 
prevented the rising of the workmen ; it is pretty 
certain that the first arrondissement^ from the Barri^re 
de I'Etoile to the Place Vend6me, was denounced as 
aristocratic, and would have been given up to pillage 
had the Communist fraction of the Government been 
able to upset what we must now call the Conservatives. 
None of the latter ever sleep at their respective 
Ministries, and the guards are doubled and tripled at 
the Finances and the Affaires Etrangeres. My in- 
formant assures me that now the elections will go on 
without intimidation, and that the Assembly will be 
allowed to deliberate, but I think he is too sanguine : 



April 17th.] SCARCITY OF MONEY. 97 

a military man places confidence in his soldiers and, 
seeing the Line return, he naturally thinks the P^kins 
will remain quiet ; but I cannot share his confidence. 
The next fortnight will be full of anxiety, and the best 
apparent results may lead to the worst possible con- 
sequences. You know I am not generally an alarmist, 
but I consider the total disappearance of money a most 
fearful symptom. Yesterday a stockbroker who was 
to have received 80,000 fr. on the 15 th, assured 
Adolphe that he had been brought only a note of 
100 fr., and that he was in such distress as to be 
obliged to accept it. A friend of mine has turned loose 
one of his horses, because he can neither feed nor sell 
it. E.'s house which brings in 12,000 fr. a year, this 
quarter only produced 300 fr., and Emile de Girardin 
was obliged to take 22,000 fr. in full payment of a debt 
of 30,000. Even bankers say that 10,000 fr. coined, 
are more than 30,000 were last year. On Thursday 
there is to be a grand fete to distribute colours to all 
arms — National Guards, Mobiles, and Line regiments. 
If it does not rain I shall certainly go, for I find it 
impossible to sit at home quiet with the feeling of 
bustle in the very air. I am sure I am living in a 
time which will never have its like, and I am gather- 
ing up souvenirs for an old age, as talkative as that 

H 



98 PARIS IN '48. [April 2ist. 

of Scheherazade. The excitement however is rather 
greater and longer than I wished and, as it is wearing 
all my people dreadfully, I have a hundred reasons for 
wishing it were over. E. is a very skeleton, and M. is 
ever ruminating plans of departure ; I am the only 
one with any spirits left, and I doubt if even they are 
very high or genuine. 



XVIII. 

April 2 1 St. 

I shall ruin you in postage, but I cannot resist 
telling you the events of the day, of which the news- 
papers give so incomplete a report. Yesterday was 
another day of intense alarm but, like the first, it ended 
in nothing, for want of firmness and decision on the 
part of Lamartine. He will not assume the dictator- 
ship, and thinks he has performed his duty as a citizen 
when he has made a pompous offer of his head. The 
rappel beat from five in the morning in every quarter, 
the National Guard turned out in myriads, and the 
Communists turned in. General Courtais is a traitor 
sold to the bad fraction of the Provisional Government, 
and nominated on the list of the Comit6 de Salut 
Public which is meant to replace the present powers ; 



April 2ist.] CONSPIRACY UNMASKED. 99 

this list includes Ledru Rollin, Flocon, Louis Blanc, 
Albert, Cabet, Blanqui, Courtais, and L'Heritier. 
Guimard, second in command of the National Guard, 
was also inscribed ; but in the original list he is scratched 
out, and the words " Trop tiede " are written beside 
his name.^ 

There was a conspiracy on Sunday, and of a very 
serious character. The bands that met at the Champ 
de Mars ostensibly to elect officers, each carried a 
banner ; there were 1 2,000 flags, and it has since been 
discovered that each flagstaff was a musket rolled 
round with tricoloured ribbon. The waggon which 
was said to contain a patriotic offering was seized, and 
found to be full of ammunition and cutlasses. This is 
not put about to increase the general panic, but I know 

^ Yet Guimard's past would appear to have been sufficiently ardent. He 
was an active member of the French Carbonari, and helped to found the 
National. In '30 he fought at the barricades ; he worked for the Republic 
and was a strong member of the Opposition under Louis Philippe. After 
thirteen years of exile in connection with the insurrection of '35, he returned 
to Paris in '48, and was among those who took possession of the Hotel de 
Ville and first acclaimed the Republic. In the Assembly he voted with 
the Montagne, but took an active part in the suppression of the June 
insurrection. 

G^n^ral de Courtais, Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard, was 
deputy for the Allier, and throughout a member of the extreme Left. His 
indecision on May 15th when he did nothing beyond attempting to pre- 
vent a collision between the National Guard and the people, entailed upon 
him a sentence of a year's imprisonment. 

LOfC, 



lOO PARIS IN '48. [April 2ist. 

it is true, for I saw many persons yesterday either in 
power themselves, or in direct communication with 
those who are. My news came straight from the 
Mairie, the Etat Major, and the Ministere des Affaires 
Etrang^res. Changarnier is to be War Minister and 
Commander of Paris, but he is for vigorous measures, 
and will only accept if the Line is brought in again ; 
one regiment came in yesterday, and more are expected 
for the fraternisation of to-morrow. By-the-by, the 
said ceremony will prevent my sending you a paper, 
for the post-office closes at eleven and I could not 
send far so early. To-day I have sent a most remark- 
able number of the AssemhUe Nationale. The troops 
of all arms are to assemble to-morrow from the 
Bastille to the Arc de I'Etoile, and it is said that 
they will cry, "A bas Ledru RoUin," "A bas Cour- 
tais," along the whole line ; I had rather they said, 
"A bas le Communisme," for this silly and danger- 
ous doctrine is gaining ground. It is only a flag 
round which the needy are grouped by promises that 
will prove as false as those made by the Monarchy 
of July and the Republic of February. Meanwhile 
fresh taxes are put on every day ; they copy the English 
system, without considering that they have not our 
foundation of commercial riches, immense credit, and 



April 2ist.] ANXIOUS SUSPENSE. loi 

real landed property. A tax upon every family having 
more than one man-servant, will only lead to no one 
having two and, instead of filling the coffers of the 
State, it will reduce to beggary a very numerous race 
of cooks, aides-de-cuisine, second footmen, etc. All 
this however though very important, does not occupy 
any one much ; what we are all thinking of is, when 
are we to have fighting in the streets ? It must come, 
and the sooner the better, for now the National Guard 
■ — the mobile as well as the sedentaire — is exasperated, 
and would exterminate any enemy. If their ardour is 
allowed to cool, and if they are wearied out by incessant 
false alarms, it is to be feared that in the hour of 
danger they may be found wanting. The next week 
ought I think to decide the question, for if the 
National Assembly is allowed to meet, it will of course 
adopt vigorous measures, and any constitution or any 
chief will be accepted with enthusiasm. We are all 
tired of this state of things ; even the strongest nerves 
are shaken by these perpetual alarms. We can bear a 
regular fight, where a few hours must decide some- 
thing ; but this bustle of drums beating, citizens arm- 
ing, and constant rumours of hidden enemies, is really 
unbearable. Every carriage sounds like the rappel, 
every drunken man howling the Marseillaise appears 



I02 PARIS IN '48. [April 26th. 

a Communist, and even the very innocent noise made 
by a neighbouring grocer placing a bar on his shutters, 
seems to our eager ears the ringing of muskets on the 
pavement. I was out the whole day yesterday, and 
saw more anxious faces than I had beheld for the last 
month, which is saying a good deal. Adolphe is in 
uniform from six in the morning, but very tired of the 
dignity which sends him the first to stand in mud or 
rain, waiting for the aggression that may come from 
any quarter, even from his own ranks. This is a very 
shabby letter, but I have had so many interruptions 
that if I made it any longer I could not send it to-day. 
You cannot imagine how thoroughly fatigued I am ; I 
cannot remain quiet, and great anxiety tires one even 
more than physical exertion. 



XIX. 

April 26th. 

A thousand thanks for the very remarkable 
pamphlet (from the Economist) you so kindly sent me ; 
I perfectly agree with it in its opinion of the present 
state of France, but I have rather better hopes for the 
future on account of the great elasticity of the French 
character, and the real resources which the country 



April 26th.] NATIONAL GUARD LOYAL. 103 

possesses, and which any established form of govern- 
ment could, I think, bring to bear upon the situation. 
It is impossible to say how confidence will be restored, 
but when it is it will spread like lightning, and with 
every shoulder to the wheel things may perhaps be 
righted. There are some good symptoms to which I 
pin my faith, and which are increasing every day ; 
when the Communist conspiracy was discovered, 
Changarnier insisted on calling out the National Guard ; 
Lamartine demurred and, as usual, threw open his 
coat and made that very disinterested offer of his very 
useless head. Marrast said "A quoi bon, ile ne 
sortiront pas." "Never mind, try," says the General, 
who professes to have the habit of victory ; they 
did, and 40,000 men were under arms in half an 
hour. Of course all the rioters turned in, and Ledru 
Rollin was obliged to join at the Hotel de Ville the 
colleagues he meant to upset. " C'est bon pour une 
fois," said he and his faction ; and on Tuesday they 
gave another alarm, to which 80,000 armed citizens 
responded in even less time than on Sunday. Not- 
withstanding the effort of all these demonstrations, 
they again showed themselves on Thursday at the 
review, and the bayonets that passed at the Arc de 
I'Etoile numbered upwards of 300,000 ! All these 



I04 PARIS IN '48. [April 26th. 

men shout "Vive la Republique," but not half so 
vigorously as they bellow " A bas le Communisme ! " 
As Emile de Girardin said six weeks ago " la Revo- 
lution pourra perir par le ridicule." Already the 
Government is called " le gouvernement derisoire." 
Lamartine's fine speeches have acquired for him the 
nickname of ' Latartine ; ' Ledru RoUin is known only 
as ' le dur coquin ; ' Louis Blanc as * Louis Blague ; ' 
Garnier Pages, ' degarnit la caisse ; ' Arago, ' tas de 
ragots ; ' and Cremieux is most deservedly called 
' Cregneux.' 

We are told the elections are going off peaceably, 
and so they are, by the aid of patrols of 120 men 
in the electoral divisions, and a guard of 80 men 
at each ballot-box. The " working classes for the most 
part refuse to vote ; they are beginning to see that 
they have overreached themselves and, in cabarets 
where they discuss the affairs of Europe, they seem 
agreed to envy all other nations who have won 
liberty without sacrificing their King. Many of them 
say " Qui done nous tirera de 1^ ? " and I am sure an 
energetic general or a popular prince (if such a phoenix 
exists) would be accepted without a murmur. Some 
newspapers hint at the Prince de Joinville, and even 
go so far as to say that he is here, but I doubt it ; one 



April 26th.] THE ELECTIONS. 105 

thing is certain, that his name has been inscribed on 
many a ballot paper, and it would not be the least 
curious result of universal suffrage to see a prince 
of an exiled dynasty called to the National Assembly. 
We shall not know the result of the elections till to- 
morrow, nor indeed then ; for how can we judge of 
individuals without any political antecedents ? Bayard 
is a wood-carver, Peupin a watchmaker, Corbon a 
shoemaker, and even in their professions we know 
nothing of them, so what can we know of their talents 
as orators and legislators ? Everything is so absurd, 
so utterly beyond all forecast, that one can hardly 
believe what one reads on every wall and hears in every 
street. On the whole there is a slight rise in com- 
mon sense ; no written list has contained the name of 
Ledru Rollin, but these printed ones were distributed 
incessantly by the Mobiles, the drummers, the commis- 
sionnaires, and even the horrid little chimney-sweeps 
who congregate at the doors of pastry-cooks to catch 
the stray sous of the luncheon-eaters. Every one who 
got into an omnibus was offered his change " avec la 
vraie liste republicaine ; " the same lists lay on the 
cushions of hackney coaches and on the counters of 
every shop. Never were prospectuses distributed in 
such myriads, nor charlatanism carried to such an 



io6 PARIS IN '48. [April 26th. 

excess, and yet I think the result will be diametrically 
opposed to what the Government expected. In the 
country, proprietors have walked up to the Mairie, 
with two or three hundred peasants voting as one man 
for the aristocrat pointed out by their seigneurs. 
The same has happened in the manufacturing districts ; 
every one unites for the defence of property : those who 
have some, for their own sakes ; those who have 
none, because they have hopes, not in the division of 
land, but in the measures ordered for reclaiming the 
uncultivated portions of France, which can only be 
done by capitalists. Communism is a bugbear or 
very little importance ; its most dangerous point, to 
my mind, is having George Sand for a mouthpiece. 
She is the author of the famous * Bulletin 16 de la 
Republique ; ' for, like the sleeping partner in a firm, 
she sometimes transacts business for her friend the 
Minister of the Interior, whose leisure hours are 
divided between Rachel, and Mademoiselle Judith of 
the Palais Royal. She writes in a paper called La 
Vraie Republique which contains as much nonsense as 
eloquence, which is saying a good deal. The new 
taxes are most absurd, and will never be paid ; they 
are made to popularise the last moments of this 
mischievous Government, and to hold up to odium the 



April 26th.] VEXATIOUS TAXES. 107 

National Assembly which must revise them. It is a 
sort of hue and cry against the wealthy, but I should 
like to know where the last specimens of that perse- 
cuted race are to be found ; not among bankers, seven 
only remain standing in the universal ruin. Proprietors 
of houses } the most fortunate have received a tenth 
of their rents, a sum quite inadequate to meet the 
increased taxation, but the majority have been paid in 
black flags and threatening notices. 

Formerly directors of theatres made rapid for- 
tunes, but how is it now ? The Opera Comique (you 
know how popular that is) closed on Sunday, having 
taken 9 fr. for three persons horribly frightened to 
find themselves alone in the galleries. The tax upon 
carriages comes a day after the fair, for 1800 carriages 
have been put down since the 24th of February ; that 
upon servants will only increase the number of those 
dependent upon national charity, and there are already 
15,000. Many of these have money in the savings 
banks, but they cannot get at it ; a poor woman whose 
husband was ill, brought a doctor's certificate to enable 
her to draw out more than the 300 fr. allowed by a 
decree (I cannot call Gamier Pages' acts laws), and the 
answer was " Your certificate is three days old ; I have 
no doubt your husband is dead, and you don't want any 



io8 PARIS IN '48. [April 26th. 

money at all." The measure concerning mortgages is 
still more preposterous ; 20 per cent, of the revenue is 
payable immediately ; now, many persons have no other 
property, and ought at least to be allowed to wait till 
the money falls due, and see if they get paid. Ten to 
one they will not, and then how can they compel pay- 
ment ? Nothing is saleable, not even Treasury bonds, 
which every one worshipped, and in which the prudent 
and by no means extravagant \jean Greffulke had 
lodged 20,000,000 fr. The provinces will rebel, and 
they will be quite right ; Paris will submit because it is 
horribly cowardly, and then it will get some fresh 
burden, till some new outbreak rids us of this intoler- 
able rule. There is a horrid paper published now in 
imitation, and under the name, of the Fere Duchene ; it 
applauds the present state of things, but regrets the 
absence of the guillotine. Another paper called La 
Commune de Paris, is under the direction of Sobrier 
who has installed the Comite de Salut Public at No. 1 6 
Rue de Rivoli, with four pieces of ordnance. His 
having got at artillery shows there is treachery some- 
where, for you cannot buy cannon at a shop, nor 
order them like the Irish pikes and rifles. I have just 
received a most deplorable letter from Berlin ; the 
King's conduct has excited universal contempt and 



April 26th.] AGITATION IN BERLIN. 109 

disapprobation ; he has disgusted his army and his 
noblesse, and I believe that in Germany those two 
elements are far more powerful than the people. There, 
as here, the revolution was only a revolt among the 
dregs of the population, and there is every reason to 
presume it was paid for from hence, as French money 
is more plentiful at Berlin than the coin of the realm. 
How wicked and how silly is this propaganda ! send- 
ing money out of an impoverished country merely 
to disturb one's neighbours, is really impossible to 
account for from the revolutionary point of view. It 
is peace at any price with a vengeance, and the prin- 
ciple which lost the Monarchy of July will as infallibly 
destroy the Republic. No foundation on which it 
might be built could be worse than the dissensions of 
neighbouring Powers, and that seems the only one 
they are inclined to favour. I forgot to thank you for 
Punchy and rushed at once into politics, as if I were 
too serious a character for light literature, and yet I did 
laugh most heartily at Mons. Cornichon. How well 
the author must know France and French ; it is quite 
delicious, so different from the slip-slop in fashionable 
novels. I shall send some papers soon, perhaps old 
ones as there are none very remarkable just at present.^ 

' Punch, in one of" its numbers for April, '48, gave very amusing 



no PARIS IN '48. [Mayist. 



XX. 

May I St. 

I had intended writing you a long letter to-day, 
but I have had two visitors whom I could not send 
away, and as I have an appointment at two, I have 
scarcely a moment. We are very much pleased with 
the result of the elections ; Ledru RoUin is so low 
that the moderates are quite satisfied ; he will be less 
dangerous in the house than among the malcontents 
in the street. There are two hundred Legitimists, which 
shows how sadly every one has miscalculated the result 
of universal suffrage ; that is the only extreme party 
that has gained. The majority is Left Centre, and 
Thiers has not been nominated ; what is even more 
surprising is that Emile de Girardin has failed. The 
Due de Luynes who has been elected in Seine et Oise, 
made a beautiful profession of faith ; he said : " If I 
were to call myself a Republican, you would not 
believe me ; my name would rise up against me ; but 
you know me. I have always lived amongst you ; 
you are now to judge whether I am worthy to 

extracts from the diary of 'the Representative of France, Cornichon,' 
supposed to have been kept while he was in England for the benefit of 
* the President of the Tyrannicide Club.' 



Mayist.] CLERICAL DEPUTIES. iii 

represent you." He was nominated by an immense 
majority, but the Due de Mouchy who has dined 
with waggoners and drunk with tinkers ever since 
the 24th of February, calling himself a * Republicain 
de '89,' has hardly any votes. The Archbishop of 
Paris and Lacordaire the Dominican are both nomi- 
nated ; how can they reconcile the deputy's dress (a 
large white waistcoat a la Robespierre) with their 
sacerdotal costume ? ^ 

We are of course most anxious for the result of 
the month's deliberations"; I feel sure we shall reverse 
what was done in '30, and instead of a Throne sur- 
rounded by republican institutions, we shall have a 
Republic surrounded by monarchical institutions, which 
will do no ^better and will last a still shorter time. 

* Monsignor AfFre did much while a priest at Amiens to improve edu- 
cation in the rural districts. He was appointed- to. the Archbishopric of 
Paris in 1840, and was well known for his benevolence and active philan- 
thropy. He supported the Provisional Government, was elected to the 
National Assembly, and on June 25th attempted to act as mediator at the 
barricades ,• under suspicion of treason, he was shot down, and died within 
a few hours. 

Lacordaire was one of the editors of the A^enir and the Agence, two 
Democratic and Ultramontane papers for the defence of the Catholic 
religion ; he was in 1835 appointed lecturer at Notre Dame, where he won 
great fame as a preacher. During several years he busied himself with 
literary work, and led the attempt to bring about religious freedom and the 
establishment in France of the monastic orders and schools. In '48 he 
started a journal called the Ere Nowvelle j he was elected to the Assembly, 
but sat for only a short time, and in '54 retired from public life. 



112 PARIS IN '48. [May ist. 

The insurrection at Rouen was an experiment in anima 
vili (sic), as the surgeons say. If it had succeeded, 
the Rouennais would have come here, joined the forces 
of Ledru RoUin and Louis Blanc, and upset what little 
order we have. It is certain the movement was 
ordered here ; the guns taken all bear the Paris stamp, 
and very compromising papers have been seized. Louis 
Blanc is very much less popular with the workmen, 
and he feels very uncomfortable, as he has advocated 
summary measures too much not to believe them 
possible as far as his life is concerned. The very 
vigorous conduct of the National Guard at Rouen 
gives me great hopes for Paris if we come to blows, 
which seems to me at least adjourned for the present. 
I have been to see the new salk des representans ; 
it is poor and shabby, but I am happy to say it will 
be much less easy to invade than I thought. The 
public tribune will only hold about five hundred ; the 
rest is consecrated to privileges which are only tem- 
porarily set aside. We have no longer a peers' tribune, 
but one for chief editors, and it is twice as large. 
Instead of les maisons du Roi et des Princes^ we are 
to have more stenographers, and the * classe lissee ' 
is the * vrai peuple, la blouse et les tricoteuses.' I 
mean to go if there is no fighting ; pistols and guns 



Mayist.] REPUBLICAN IMAGERY. 113 

alone will damp my curiosity ; I am quite ready to 
brave heat and squeezes. The fete is put off for a 
week, and Lamartine says he will not have rosieres 
nor gilt horns to cattle, nor eating and drinking ; so 
I suppose it will be like the last, a weary promenade 
for our poor National Guard. I send you a small 
pamphlet about the Republic by an ardent and sincere 
Republican who says : " Nous avons perdu la partie ; 
vous verrez que ce seront les cent jours de la Re- 
publique." This for a man of his convictions is a 
curious admission, and shows the impotency of the 
leaders. Have you seen Ledru RoUin's last proclama- 
tion .'' He quotes Jean Paul, whom few read and 
none understand, and says the finest fruits alone are 
attacked by wasps, so he alone of the Government 
has been attacked by calumny, etc. The journalists 
won't allow they are wasps, and we contest his beauty 
as a fruit. George Sand of course wrote this non- 
sense, for the Minister of the Interior is not poetical ; 
Jules Favre has backed out of the Ministry for fear 
of being named as the author. Real Republicans hide 
their diminished heads, and the friends of order are 
beginning to peep out as ants do after a storm ; I wish 
I could feel sure they would remain out in real danger. 
Did you hear the parody of the Girondins attributed 



114 PARIS IN '48. [May 4th. 

f la 
to Lord Brougham: "Mourir pour< , patrie-j 

' i-fle ^ fie plus , rie plus ,. ,, • „ 3 
cest< sort< , ^ r • doux< , ^ r • di^ne d envie r 
I un \ deux jots ( deux jots ° 



I think it worthy of Punch} 



XXI. 

May 4th. 

Notwithstanding all the threats contained in the 
fierce newspapers or placarded on the walls, we have 
reached the opening of the National Assembly with- 
out blows. Of course we are all anxiety for its 
operations, but no one seems to apprehend any out- 
break for to-day. Lariiartine is said to be opposed 
to a President ; he will have three consuls, and he 
rejects the military element which would alone be 
popular here, through fear of Cavaignac's energy.'^ 

^ Jules Favre was a law student when, in 1830, he professed himself a 
Republican. He was a brilliant special pleader in political cases, and in 
'48, as secretary to Ledru Rollin, wrote some of his manifestoes. He 
advocated the prosecution of Blanc for his share in the 1 5th of May. He 
was a strong opponent of Louis Napoleon, both as President and Emperor. 

2 Cavaignac was the son of the deputy to the Convention in the great 
Revolution ; he had a distinguished career in Algeria, where, in ''44, he 
was appointed Brigadier-General. In February '48 the Government offered 
him the post of War Minister which he refused, but he was returned to the 
National Assembly in April, and then accepted the portfolio. In the June 



May 4th.] NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. 115 

Dupont de I'Eure would be first Consul, but he is 
only a very faded drapeau ; Lamartine second, and 
Ledru Rollin third. Of course all this is only conjec- 
ture, and I don't imagine they can set to work seriously 
with any appearance of fairness while twenty-two depart- 
ments are still unrepresented ; the elections however 
are most extraordinary, and show how thoroughly the 
result of universal suffrage is beyond classification or 
control. Some places have returned none but Legiti- 
mists, and yet that party has no sympathisers among 
the lower classes. Thiers is only fourteenth on the 
list of his own department and Emile de Girardin, in 
spite of the 80,000 subscribers to the Presse, had very 
few votes indeed. It is presumed that Berger, Garnon, 
or some other man nominated at Paris and professing 
Thiers' opinions will make room for him, as his incon- 
testable talent cannot be spared. Lamartine's opposition 
to him was quite personal, and founded on the small 
jealousies of rival historians ; notwithstanding the 
poet's ten elections and his 250,000 votes at Paris, I 
think his popularity is decreasing. Each vote for him 
was given against Ledru Rollin, that is all ; and I 

insurrection he organised the assaults on the barricades, and was victorious 
after three days' fighting. He was a thorough-going Republican, and 
incapable of any unconstitutional policy. 



Il6 PARIS IN '48. [May 4th. 

agree with a man who told me yesterday that France 
might be ruled by the sword, but never by a harpe 
eolienne. One is lost in conjectures as to the means 
of getting out of the present crisis ; not one farthing is 
ready to pay the June dividends, so paper money must 
come, and even moderate journals are calculating its 
probable depreciation the very day of its appearance. 
Seizing the railways would, not help the Government, 
as they can hardly pay their way ; there is no traffic, 
and few travellers seem inclined to select this wretched 
country for an excursion. Still it is most curious and, 
were I a man, I would not hesitate to come and study a 
state of things which has no precedent in the annals of 
civilised life, and which every party seems to consider 
the very worst that could be. There is no personal 
danger, nor do I think there will be till famine drives 
the deceived workmen wild ; this must happen, if 
speedy measures are not taken to restore to the plough 
all the useless inmates of the National Workshops. A 
waste of substance, only to be equalled by the waste of 
money, has now been going on for more than two 
months ; the price of grain has been fixed so very low 
that many farmers have changed their cultivation this 
year, and one bad season would find us totally unpro- 
vided ; then indeed 200,000 famished operatives 



May 4th.] FEAR OF CIVIL WAR. 117 

parading the streets will carry all before them, and it 
will be high time to fly a country so utterly lost. Wise 
people seem to dread all this a great deal more than 
the partial outbreaks of which we are in daily expecta- 
tion ; these would be put down with more or less 
bloodshed, and you know how very little human life 
is considered in France. The most serious cause for 
uneasiness is having such a man as Barb6s at the head 
of 23,000 men. If there is civil war the 12th Legion 
will be supported by the 7th ; the ist, 2nd, and loth 
are for order, and the remaining seven will join the 
strongest party. General Duvivier has given in his 
resignation as commander of the Garde Mobile, under 
pretence that his whole time will be taken up by the 
Assemblee Constituante, but in reality because his 
fraternal troop will not fight in Paris. These 15,000 
armed and disciplined soldiers would prove a most 
serious obstacle to the peaceable National Guards, should 
they join the people ; but one hardly likes to think of 
these contingencies. The excitement is very great 
indeed ; it is impossible to read anything but newspapers 
and personally I indulge in them far too much ; I read 
fourteen yesterday, counting the Times for one only. 
The best is the Assemblee Nationale, of which I sent you 
a very good specimen yesterday. To-day I despatched 



Il8 PARIS IN '48. [May 4th. 

the Riforme which is looked upon as Ledru Rollin's 
organ, and > the Vraie Ripublique written under the 
inspiration of George Sand ; you will find in it part 
of the autobiography of the murderer Barbes. If you 
tell me which style of papers you prefer I can easily get 
them, as almost all are hawked about the streets ; but 
I only forward those which are supposed to have some 
weight. I am going out to see how things are going 
on ; I have an enterprising and fearless friend with 
whom I brave crowds, and we have found every one 
very civil to women. I am to breakfast with her, and 
then start to try to catch a glimpse of the Provisional 
Government. If anything happens to-day, I will write 
to-morrow by post.^ 

^ Barbes was a man of considerable means who took up Communism 
out of sympathy with the suffering masses. In February, '48, he was 
released after an imprisonment of nine years which he had incurred in 
1839 ; it was alleged that in the insurrection of May in that year, he shot 
Captain Droulneau during the parley between the insurgents and the troops 
under that officer. In reply to an order to fire which the captain gave, the 
insurgents poured in a volley, and he fell. A public demonstration was 
got up in favour of Barbes, and the death-penalty was commuted to im- 
prisonment for life. In '48 he was appointed governor of the Luxembourg 
— a post which he refused — and nominated Colonel of the 12th Legion of 
the Garde Nationale ; he was greatly respected among Republicans for his 
high moral qualities and single-minded self-sacrifice. He founded the club 
of ' la Revolution.' 



May 8th.] COSTLY GOVERNMENT. 119 



XXII. 

May 8th. 

Even my robust vanity is put to the blush by the 
very great praise that you bestow on my letters, and 
you cannot imagine how pleased I am to be enabled in 
any way to gratify you. I like writing to you who 
understand everything French, and read of the mis- 
fortunes of this country without the exultation of * une 
enfant d'Albion,' but with the sympathies of a friend 
and an ally. It really is fallen and, I fear, most 
irretrievably, now that we know something of the state 
of finances ; imagine that the expenses of the last ten 
weeks have exceeded those of the last sixty years, 
though many of these years were also fraught with 
danger and anarchy ; of course by expenses I mean 
not only money squandered, but value depreciated. 
The occupation of the Allied armies cost France five 
milliards ; the revolution of '30 two, part of which 
was paid out of the treasure found at Algiers ; and the 
Provisional Government has spent or lost twenty-two 
milliards. No one seems inclined to pay the increased 
taxation, and the taxes taken off by no means add to 
the welfare of the working classes the sums of which 
they drain the Treasury. No one is satisfied, not even 



I20 PARIS IN '48. [May 8th. 

Lamartine who is an arch dissembler as unfit for his 
exalted station in public life as he is unworthy of his 
place in the esteem of Europe ; he is weak to act, 
and his incessant system of conciliation becomes con- 
temptible when you see to whom he addresses his 
blandishments. Louis Blanc is despised even by his 
workmen ; Ledru RoUin is hated ; Garnier Pages' 
incapacity is now proved, and still the poet asserts the 
solidarity of the Provisional Government and proclaims 
their unity, as he did the Republic ' a la face du soleil.* 
Courtais is all but mad, and it is most dangerous and 
impolitic to leave such a man at the head of the 
National Guard ; last Thursday he got very drunk 
with his friend the Minister of the Interior and, as he 
has 'le vin patriotique,' he determined upon carrying 
his thanks to such members of Government as had not 
dined ; so he ordered out some military music, a detach- 
ment of Mobile and all his staff, and galloped to the 
Luxembourg. Louis Blanc's body-guard, seeing such 
a troop at two in the morning, took fright and beat to 
arms ; the brave serenaders ran away, the old general 
ordered the rappel to be sounded, the nth Legion 
turned out, and were infuriated to find that they had 
been waked to contribute to the end of an orgy in 
which they had had no share. I don't exactly know 



May 8th.] COURTAIS' ESCAPADE. 121 

how all this ended, but the absurd drunkard sent 
messages to the other legions, woke the colonels at 
five, ordered processions to be got up by breakfast 
time, which both the ist and 2nd refused to attend, 
and then, when he was sobered, wrote an order of the 
day thanking the patriots who had not come out, and 
begging them all to return to the homes they had 
never left. He ought to be dismissed, and then the 
National Guard ought to name its own chief; this 
however would be creating an elective Monarchy, as 
the chief of the Paris National Guard would virtually 
be King of France. A difficulty meets one at every 
step, and as we have no precedent of a Republic 
unsupported by a guillotine, we don't know how to 
meet it. Ledru Rollin is certainly very dangerous, 
but he loves wine, women, and luxuries of all kinds, so 
he may be * domine par ses vices ; ' whereas the Spartan 
Barb^s who thinks nothing of murder and has been 
nine years in the cells, is up to everything. One of 
the worst acts of the authorities has been giving this 
man the command of the 12th Legion ; a convicted 
murderer at the head of 28,000 men, exasperated as he 
has been by this long captivity, may fancy civil war is 
only a fair retaliation upon society, and raise the standard 
of revolt any day. I tell you all rumours, but my 



122 PARIS IN 48. [May 8th. 

own conviction is that there will not be the slightest 
outbreak till a new Government has been constituted 
and tried. Louis Blanc would fight, but he has no 
party, as none but idiots now believe in the * organi- 
sation du travail.' ^ 

George Sand is trying to work up Ledru RoUin to 
her own sanguinary level, but he has no pluck, and 
contents himself with receiving from her roses dipped 
in blood and other tender souvenirs. She lives at the 
Ministere, and will do him as much harm as Egeria 
Lieven did Guizot. 

I went last night to a party given by the Colonel 
of our legion, as I was most curious to see the work- 
men whom their epaulets were to bring in contact 
with *les gens du monde.' I talked to one of them 
of the name of Bernard, and thought him a fool 
and a blusterer. His hands were very dirty, and to 
distinguish between the diiFerent ranks of society, he 
said : ' que ceux qui ont mange du veau toute leur vie, 
permettent enfin a leurs freres de manger du bceuf," 
etc. He bored me, but many fine ladies squeezed his 
dirty hands, and admired his sentiments because they 

* Under this title Blanc had written a series of articles in the Re'vue du 
Progres Politique, Social et Litteraire, in which he upheld a modified State 
Socialism, in opposition to pure competition. 



May 8th.] REPUBLICAN EQUALITY. 123 

were expressed by a working man instead of being 
placarded on the walls or distributed in a penny- 
pamphlet. For my part, I admire fraternity if it leads 
to boundless charity, but I cannot subscribe to equality ; 
like the bed of Procrustes, it is equally painful to those 
who must be stretched and to those who must be 
curtailed to its proportions. Poor Bernard will be 
sent back to his workshop as soon as the barricades 
have faded from our minds, and we no longer believe 
in pillage ; he will be hated by his comrades whom he 
must despise, and yearning after the society that will 
despise him as soon as he has ceased to be a novelty. 

I send you a most delightful critique of Cabet's 
* Journey to Icaria ; ' it made me laugh heartily amidst 
so much that makes me thoughtful. I go on sending 
you papers nearly every day, as I think nothing more 
curious than the wonderful plans and sentiments which 
unlimited liberty of the press has brought into 
publicity. The AssembUe Nationale is the best informed 
and the most consistent and well-founded organ of the 
Opposition, but in the streets it is called Me journal 
royaliste.' I have so many letters to answer that my 
head and hand are quite tired ; I always leave you for 
the last, because I know I shall not omit anything that 
you wish, and if I began by you I should certainly go 



124 PARIS IN '48. [May nth. 

on till I had not a moment left for any one else. If 
we have the announced row to-morrow I will certainly 
write ; you know that even the 24th of February 
did not freeze my ink, so you may be sure if you hear 
nothing, that nothing has happened.^ 



XXIII. 

May nth. 

Though my vanity is exorbitant, still believe it is 
more than satisfied with the praise which you and your 
friends bestow on my letters, and I could not think of 
submitting them to the trial of public opinion. You 
have read them with most friendly indulgence, and 
others with the craving appetite for news which all 
must feel during this momentous crisis ; but their 
interest at any other moment would be very slight, 
and all my broken English and French words would 

* Bernard, who was a compositor by trade and, in 1830, a Republican, 
had helped to found the 'Societe des Droits de rHomme.' In 1835 he 
joined Barbes and Blanqui in organising the ' Soci^te des Families ' and 
that of the ' Saisons.' Returned as a deputy, he was imprisoned after the 
insurrection of '39 at the Mont St, Michel. In February, '48, he was 
appointed Commissary-General to four departments ; in the Assembly he 
voted with the ' Montagne ' on Socialist and political questions. He was 
a strong opponent of Louis Napoleon, and was prosecuted for the part he 
took in the movement of '49, after which he fled to Brussels and England. 



May nth.] DECLINE OF LAMARTINE. 125 

put me to the blush were I to see them in pruit. 
Besides really if I did not write as I think and speak, 
I should be conjuring up all the rules of composition 
that dull governesses and a cracked homme de letires 
attempted in vain to teach me when 1 was young ; to 
avoid repetition I should misrepresent my ideas, and 
I should have a dread of personalities both as re- 
gards myself and others, which would destroy all local 
colouring. I am very proud of your approbation, and 
gratified that you should keep my despatches ; but 
they are yours and yours only, and I distinctly decline 
the honours and criticisms of authorship, though I 
confess I have been excessively pleased by all you have 
said on the subject. Alexandre Dumas is right in 
saying "On ecrit sous la dictee des ev^nements," for 
it literally is so. Each day is full of incidents, and the 
difficulty is to keep pace with the singular events which 
baffle all one's powers of calculation. Who could have 
believed, for instance, that Lamartine would only be 
fourth on the list of the second Provisional Govern- 
ment } It is his own fault ; he would not separate 
from Ledru Rollin and, as every one knew he had no 
sympathy for him and no one believes in boundless 
fraternity, it got about that the Minister of the In- 
terior had a hold over him not to the credit of the 



126 PARIS IN '48. [May nth. 

great poet. I don't believe it since, whatever may be 
Lamartine's delinquencies, they are more than balanced 
by those of his colleagues ; but I rejoice that his want 
of frankness and active courage should have met with 
this punishment. He has been falling gradually from the 
giddy height which he attained on the 28th of February, 
and his popularity is now at a very low ebb. " C'est 
se raccrocher aux branches que d'embrasser Ledru 
Rollin " is what every one says, and what every one 
feels. We don't despair of seeing him confederate with 
Blanqui and Barbes for, as some paper said long ago 
of Lamartine, " il lui faut un certain temps pour faire 
le tour de la chambre, mais les periodes de ces revire- 
ments ne sont pas encore bien connues." He began 
as a Legitimist, turned * Philippiste ' to get the embassy 
to Vienna which was given to Mons. de Flahaut, then 
moved on to the Left and wrote ' Les Girondins ' as 
an appeal to the groundlings. He can't court popu- 
larity any further, and he will find it more difficult 
than he thinks to create a party anywhere else. His 
successor at the Foreign Office will be Bastide, who 
inspires me with some confidence because he is a man 
of property.^ 

^ Bastide had helped to oust the Bourbons in 1830; for his share 
in the insurrection of '32 he was condemned to death, but escaped to 



May nth.] FEARS FOR THE ASSEMBLY. 127 

Jules Favre who will probably have the * Interieur ' 
is very dangerous ; he wrote the first incendiary bul- 
letins, and openly professes his devotion to the Revo- 
lution, not the Republic. Louis Blanc tried to create 

* le portefeuille du Progres,' but got an admirable 
answer from Peupin a real workman ; pray read it in 
the Assemhlee Nationale which I send you to-day. By- 
the-by, the Charivari proposes a law against the un- 
authorised assumption of the title of * ouvrier ; ' and 
as it is the only one that conveys a privilege, I think 
it would be a very fair restriction. I have sent you 

* Le petit homme rouge ' and recommend, on the fourth 
page, the account of the Seance Royale. The * Feuille- 
tons sur I'lcarie ' signed * Un Curieux ' are by Dumas ; 
I sent them last Monday. 

Since the Socialist element, Louis Blanc & Co., 
has been excluded from the executive power, great 
fears are entertained for the safety of the Assembly 
and the liberty of deliberation : in consequence of 
this, perhaps you will conclude the guards have been 
doubled or even tripled ; but no, that did not present 
sufficient security. General Negrier, one of the new 

England j in 1834 he returned to France and became a journalist. In '48 
he was secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Lamartine) and he 
retained his post under Cavaignac ; in December he retired from public 
life and devoted his time to literature. 



128 PARIS IN '48. [May nth. 

questors, has applied for muskets and ammunition ; 
I presume Degousee will victual the place, and that 
the armed representatives of the people will carry on 
the work of the Constitution in a state of siege, and 
with loaded guns. Can any more bitter criticism of 
universal suffrage be imagined than this suspicion 
attached so soon to the nominees of the whole nation } ^ 
The walls have been covered the last few days 
with yellow and red placards in favour of Poland, and 
yesterday Barbes and Wolowski echoed them in the 
Chamber.^ To-day a petition is to be carried there and 
enforced as usual by intelligent operatives, and all this 
while France is without a Government, while trade is 
at a standstill, credit irretrievably lost, and every branch 
of the administration utterly disorganised. Such waste 

1 Degousee had been trained as a civil engineer, but fought in the last 
campaigns of the Empire. He joined the Carbonari in 1820 ; in 1830 he 
was aide-de-camp to Lafayette ; as a Republican he was opposed to the 
Government of Louis Philippe, he promoted the Reform banquets, and 
helped to proclaim the Republic. He was a member of the Commission 
of Public Works and a questor j he sided with the Right against 
Socialism, while he supported Grevy's Republican safeguards against 
Louis Napoleon. 

2 Wolowski, who was born at Warsaw, was educated in France and 
took part in the revolution of 1830. He was naturalised in 1834 and 
elected in '48 to the Assembly, where he voted with the moderate demo- 
cratic party. He retired from political life in 1851, and in 1852 founded 
the first comptoir of the Credit Foncier ; he was the author of several works 
on economics in France. 



May nth.] MINISTERS OFF DUTY. 129 

of time is really distressing, when one thinks by what 
superhuman patience we have got through the last 
eleven weeks. It is true the Provisional Government 
have done a world of mischief, but it is equally true 
that they are worn out by their labours, and all have 
recourse to different means to recruit their streng^th. 
Caussidiere and Courtais have taken to drinking, and 
the former was picked out of a gutter by his own 
Montagnards the night before last. Ledru RoUin is 
overeating himself, and George Sand makes tea for 
him at three o'clock in the morning. Louis Blanc 
has other resources, but the worst of all is Lamartine 
who, as a forlorn hope, has sent for D'Alton Sh6e ! 
Imagine the ex-peer who always was mad, the mouth- 
piece of democratic societies under the Monarchy, the 
avowed friend of the Socialists taken into the private 
councils of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.^ 

Political madness is becoming every day more 
common : Mons. de I'Apee a deputy and railway 
director, was found the other day embracing a third- 

1 In 1847 D'Alton Shee, who had been a member of the dynastic party 
and a supporter of Guizot, completely changed his opinions. After Febru- 
ary, '48, he rallied to Ledru Rollin, attacked Cavaignac and pronounced for 
a social democratic Republic. He made a stand against the closing of the 
clubs after the loth of December and was imprisoned ; he was not subse- 
quently re-elected. 

K 



I30 PARIS IN '48. [May nth. 

class carriage and weeping as over the body of a 
departed friend ; his colleague Mons. de Villeneuve 
is in a madhouse, and many others are little better. 
One of the Boulogne employes, Lombard, formerly 
sentenced for political offences, came to ask for advance- 
ment yesterday, and began the conversation by placing 
a dagger on the table and saying " Here is my argu- 
ment." A pleasant state of things is it not } Every 
Republican says " This is not my Republic ; " every 
Monarchist argues " Could any king do worse ? " and 
then we are told France is unanimous ! If it is, it 
surely is not Democratic ; but how can we get out 
of the scrape with 80,000 armed workmen watching 
us, and all the violent clubs ready to pounce upon 
the reactionaries ? One good measure is that these 
clubs are no longer to be rent free and, as patriots are 
neither rich nor generous, I think two-thirds will be 
closed immediately. I forgot to mention that people 
are beginning to talk and think a good deal of Jules 
de Lasteyrie, who took such a prominent part in saving 
many members of the Royal Family ; his courage is 
unbounded and he has good abilities, besides being as 
yet an honest man ; I say as yet, for they have all 
gone over when in power. He is married to Olivia 
de Chabot, and therefore will be supposed to be a 



Mayisth.] SERIOUS DISSENSIONS. 131 

partisan of the Regency which, however, is not the 
the case/ How very important the next fortnight 
will be ! 



XXIV. 

May ifth. 

You will, I am sure, expect some account of the 
deplorable Ministry that has succeeded the Provisional 
Government, and of the first acts of the Assembly, 
but it really is almost impossible to convey a clear idea 
of such inextricable confusion. Never was such dis- 
cord, such total disregard even to a semblance of 
concert among the ruling powers. The first serious 
act of the representatives was to take their defence into 
their own hands, and to invest their President with 
unlimited power, not only over the National Guard 
but over the Army, and not merely over the portion 
in garrison at Paris but even over the army at the 
frontier. This was voted seemingly unanimously, 
when lo ! on the alternative question being put, two 

^ The Marquis de Lasteyrie, a grandson of Lafayette and brother-in- 
law of De R^musat, was bitterly hostile to the Revolution in '48, and 
subsequently to the Republic and the President. In 1850 he was one of 
the seventeen members chosen to put forward the electoral law of the 31st 
of May against universal suffrage. 



132 PARIS IN '48. '[May 15th. 

stood up against the measure, and these were Courtais 
Commander-in-chief of the civic forces, and the in- 
famous Barbes Colonel of the 12th Legion ! Is it not 
dangerous that such men should be disaffected, and 
deny the authority founded ten days ago on universal 
suffrage ? This is the first great division among the 
armed forces ; the next is in the executive power and most 
incomprehensible. Lamartine and Ledru Rollin hand- 
in-hand seemed inclined to defer to the Assembly ; the 
three others take a kingly view of the case, and do not 
consider themselves bound to attend the deliberations. 
The Ministers are all bad or at least incapable, and 
they too are divided among themselves. On Saturday 
morning the Moniteur published new decrees relative 
to the F^te of Concord, and at one o'clock Mons. 
Recurt Minister of the Interior announced that the 
said f^te was put off for a week, as the preparations 
could not be completed. The very night before, the 
postponement demanded in the name of the depart- 
ments had been refused because everything was quite 
ready ! Where then was the truth — with the Govern- 
ment organ announcing the celebration, or with the 
Minister coolly requesting that all who had come for 
it should wait a week .? It so happened that both were 
right : all was in a great state of forwardness on Friday 



May 15th.] AT THE ASSEMBLEE. 133 

night, but all was pulled down on Saturday morning, 
whether out of sympathy for the Poles, or because 
Louis Blanc did not receive the * porte-feuille du 
Progres,' or because three thousand men hoped to be 
employed to replace what three hundred had origi- 
nally put up, no one knows and no one even asks. 
Louis Blanc had a small ovation, and got so frightened 
that he hid himself; he won't go to the Chamber 
where his appearance at the tribune is always greeted 
with the cry of Petit BanCy as he must stand on a stool 
to speak ; he won't go on with the * Travailleurs ' of 
whom he can make nothing, so he is waiting for a 
Socialist movement to make more noise. 

We went to the Assemblee on Saturday and it was 
a curious sight ; the old Left have, with few exceptions, 
moved over to the Right where Berryer sits not far 
from Odillon Barrot and Larochejacqueline, below De 
Remusat. As they are the only people used to the 
etiquette of the Chamber, they take by far the most pro- 
minent part in the debates. Odillon Barrot, Dufaure 
and Dupin spoke, not very well but much better 
than Flocon, Emmanuel Arago and Germain Sarrut. 
Lacordaire fancied Mons. Portalis was sneering at his 
cowl and tonsure, and rushed to the tribune with the 
greatest emotion ; he defended his dress in a quivering 



134 PARIS IN '48. [May 15th. 

voice with very little success ; evidently his eloquence 
requires the calm and recueillement of Notre Dame, and 
is totally unfit for the tumultuous auditors he finds in 
the Assembly. Coquerel followed him and did better, 
but I am afraid he is a humbug, very full of vanity 
and ambition which he wishes us to accept as fraternity 
and philanthropy. About two o'clock the rappel beat 
all round the Chamber, and a rumour spread that 
the Poles and their friends, in number fifteen thousand, 
were going to attack the place and renew the awful scene 
of the 24th of February. This was very exciting as 
you may suppose, and we waited in great suspense for 
this demonstration which, however, did not take place, 
as the National Guard turned out as usual in great 
numbers, and the rioters turned in after getting a 
speech from Mons. Vavin, and a promise that Poland 
should be looked to to-day, Monday.^ 

1 It may be as well to give here a short account of some of the members 
alluded to who took part in this memorable debate. Berryer was well 
known as the brilliant counsel and orator who had defended Ney and the 
other generals impeached with him ; he was an extreme opponent of the 
reactionary policy of Louis Philippe's Government, though at one time 
— '38 to '39 — he allied himself with Thiers and Guizoti against Mol^. 
When returned as a deputy in 48, he confined himself to administrative 
and financial questions ; he was opposed to the restoration of the Empire. 

Larochejacquelein, nephew of the heroic Vendean who fell in 1815, was 
created a peer (Marquis) but did not take his seat, as the revolution of 
1830 intervened. In '42 he sat as a Legitimist deputy ; in '44 he 



Mayi5th.] SOME OF THE DEPUTIES. 135 

To give you another instance of the divisions 
among the heads of the forces, I must tell you that 

abandoned the Bourbons for the Orleans branch ; in February, '48, he gave 
in his adhesion to the Republic. In the Assembly he voted with the Right 
except on the questions of liberty of the press, abolition of the death-penalty 
for political offences, the Grevy amendment, and the suppression of the 
salt tax. He championed the Republic in the Legislative Assembly, but 
became a senator after the Coup d'Etat. 

Charles de Remusat was a journalist and lawyer, and a disciple of 
Cousin, His political career began in '48 when he was for a few months 
Minister of the Interior ; he belonged to the party led by Thiers. 

Dufaure was Councillor of State and then Minister of Public Works 
in Guizot's Ministry. After February, '48, he became leader of the 
Moderate Democrats, and was Minister of the Interior from October to 
December of that year. 

Dupin (the elder, born 1793) was educated as a lawyer 5 in 1815 he 
joined the liberal opposition against Napoleon I. ; he assisted Berryer in 
the defence of Ney. He opposed the reactionary ' Ordonnances ' of 
Charles X., and was Minister of Justice in Louis Philippe's first Cabinet. 
He retained his post of Procurator-General to the Court of Cassation during 
'48, and in '52 was President of the Assembly. 

The Baron Portalis was first Procurator to the King and Councillor 
to the Royal Court ; next, as deputy, he joined the Opposition, was Pro- 
curator-General in '48, and was returned to the National Assembly. 

Germain Sarrut a medical man tried, after 1830, to further the aims 
of the Revolution in La Tribune, and was implicated in the 114 actions 
which were brought against it. In '36 he was inclined to support Louis 
Napoleon, but in '48 he rallied to the Republic, and ranked with the radical 
Left. He defended many of the accused after the June insurrection, and 
helped to organise democratic and revolutionary societies. He opposed 
Louis Napoleon's policy as President, and preferred poverty to his service 
after the Coup cl'Etat. 

Coquerel was a Protestant pastor and well-known preacher, and editor 
of three Liberal religious periodicals. When returned to the Assembly as 
a moderate Republican he supported Cavaignac and opposed the Mon- 
tagnards and Socialists ; he retired at the Coup d'Etat. 



136 PARIS IN '48. [May 15th. 

Justinien Clary Captain of the Mobile turned out 
without orders, and marched his men to the Pont 
de la Concorde, for which Courtais ordered him a 
month's imprisonment and General Tempoure sent 
him official thanks. The result of this want of un- 
derstanding is that each officer will, in future, act 
for himself, and of course this system will extend to 
the privates who will also exercise their judgment, 
and follow the commander whom they like best. A 
great deal is expected to-day : the Poles are to meet 
at the Bastille ; they are to be joined by their friends, 
that is all the canaille of the suburbs, the idlers of 
the National Workshops, and the disorderly of all 
countries ; they are to march to the Assembly and 
enforce their petition. To my mind, the cry *Vive 
la Pologne,' like that of * Vive la re forme,' is a cover 
to some unknown ambition, some most dangerous 
faction. Many will shriek 'Vive la Pologne' who 
would shudder at joining in a hurrah for Barbes or 
Blanqui — and this is how revolutions are manufactured ! ^ 

Vavin was for many years a deputy and sat among the very moderate 
Democrats. In March, '48, the Provisional Government entrusted to him 
the liquidation of the Civil List, which he undertook only on condition of 
doing the work gratuitously. He voted usually with the Right, and in 
particular in 1850 for the law to limit universal suffrage ; he pi-otested 
against the Coup d'Etat and retired. 

1 Some Polish exiles who were returning to their home in Prussian 



May i5th.] PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES. 137 

The officers of our quartier have the strictest 
orders to remain at home to-day : the Captain 
is at the Mairie, and Adolphe has been sent a list 
of trusty men whom he is to rally in case of emer- 
gency, and to collect without the rappel ; this is a 
measure of prudence, as the drums were broken in 
many quartiers on Saturday. The Mobile is kept 
within doors, and the first signal will see vast numbers 
under arms ; but then the rioters are armed too. So 
little circumspection was used at first in arming the 
National Guard that 4000 muskets are missing in 
our arrondissement alone, and I fear this abuse 
must be still greater in the nth and 12th which 
are worse composed and worse commanded. It is 
very difficult to sustain the ardour of the civic forces : 
the shopkeepers are exasperated at their losses, the 
gentlemen indignant at being bearded by a set of 
ruffians, and all the world is so sick of the Republic 
that they have left off abusing Louis Philippe and 
his faults and cowardice. I don't mean by this to 
hint at any chance of restoration, nor could one 
seriously wish any one to undertake the government 

Poland, were stopped at the frontier and came back to Paris full of their 
wrongs. The Polish kingdom had been 'suppressed' by Russia in 1847, 
but the national feeling was not crushed, and Poland continued to be a thorn 
in the side of the partitioning Powers. 



138 PARIS IN '48. [May 15th, 

of a ruined country, without credit or men capable 
of retrieving it. Never perhaps was so much medi- 
ocrity collected as the present Chamber but, as the 
first instrument of a revolution must be cast away, 
it is as well that it should be so. Already Louis 
Blanc and Albert have relapsed into insignificance ; 
I trust they will soon be joined by Flocon and 
Recurt, whom Ledru Rollin and even Lamartine 
cannot long survive. Then, if there is a man he 
will have a glorious opening ; to his predecessors will 
attach the odium of anarchy, disorder, and bank- 
ruptcy ; to him, the merit of ameliorations which 
will spring up naturally, as every one will join in 
the reorganisation of society. I cannot venture to 
surmise how soon this will happen, nor do I wish 
to see it too soon since, if the Nation is checked in 
its headlong course, it will start again with greater 
violence. In '30 they stopped so short that they 
did not see * I'abime de la Republique ; ' now I 
should wish them to sound its depths, and if they 
can get out of it they will hardly be tempted to 
begin over again. The only resolute men here are 
Barbes a murderer who is a Communist, and 
Blanqui who is a Socialist ; here lies the real danger, 
for the two will join if the slightest check is given 



Mayisth.] BUCHEZ AS PRESIDENT. 139 

to the present Government, which really no one 
seems inclined to defend. Out of contempt for the 
present rulers we may again see the blunders of 
February}; we may allow the Republic to be sub- 
verted, and we shall tear our hair when we see it 
replaced by Socialism, Communism, or even the 
Terror. This last I think quite out of the question, 
but one can answer for nothing in this country 
where courage, like fever, is intermittent, and where 
the noblest acts of heroism are followed by instances 
of such signal cowardice. This applies to Lamartine, 
whose glorious attitude during the first sixty hours 
of the Republic has been followed by two months 
of hesitation, of mean subterfuges, and of disgrace- 
ful condescension. He has irretrievably lost ground, 
and having controlled the destinies of his country 
for two months, he has failed to secure a single 
advantage or to inaugurate a single improvement. 

How one gets accustomed to everything ; here 
am I coolly writing reflections on one revolution, when 
we are perhaps at this very moment on the eve of 
another ; I am commenting on a dictator who has 
served his time, and saying nothing of Buchez the 
real autocrat of France, the most absolute sovereign 
we have ever seen. I trust he may exercise his 



I40 PARIS IN '48. [May 15th. 

power well, but I don't like his looks ; he is evidently 
ill-tempered, and that is a serious drawback in such 
times. Barbes looks very wild, Flocon very ignoble, 
and Pierre Bonaparte the very image of the First 
Consul/ They are the only new faces of which I 
took particular notice in the confusion of Saturday. 
I am told that the said Bonaparte visits workshops 
and distributes money, which is silly and extravagant 
for even his glorious uncle would not be ' I'homme 
du jour.' We want something new and we are 
dragging on in the old groove ; it is very sad, very 
hopeless ; each day adds to the defects of the present 
system and increases the difficulties of the situation. 
All despond and rumours of pillage are again afloat ; 
I am going out to see what is going on. I will 
write to-morrow and by post. I sent you the 
Constitutionnel this morning, as the article on the 

1 Buchez's power as President of the Assembly was just coming to an 
end, as he was not re-elected after May 15th. He was a doctor by pro- 
fession, and had long been prominent in politics as in 1821 he founded the 
French Carbonari, In 1830, together with Flocon and others, he established 
the Society des Amis du Peuple ; in '31, having separated from the St. 
Simonists, he established the Europeen a philosophical review, as the 
organ of his moderate Catholic programme. 

Pierre Bonaparte was a son of Lucien Bonaparte, and was born in 18 15 ; 
in '32 he joined his uncle Joseph in America; he next went to live in 
the Papal States whence he was expelled in '36. After this he led an 
adventurous life in Albania and Corfu, and in '48 he came to Paris and 
was appointed Chief of Brigade 3 he usually voted with the extreme Left. 



May 15th.] ASSAULT ON FLOCON. 141 

Army seems to me to be by Thiers. I am afraid 
the address is sometimes very uncouth, for I cannot 
buy newspapers nearer than the Madeleine, and our 
servant writes the address himself in the neighbour- 
hood, so as not to have two journeys. I have just 
heard that Flocon was nearly strangled yesterday 
by a delegate of the Basses Pyrenees who came 
here to see the Fete, and had not money enough 
to wait till next Sunday ; I wonder the National 
Guard interfered to save him. You know he is a 
doctor, so are Recurt and Trelat,^ which makes one 
of the papers say : " Ce n'est pas un conseil, c'est 
une consultation ; nous sommes done bien malades ! " 
To console the unfortunate provincials who meant to 
see the pagan ceremonies, they are to be reviewed 
by the executive. What a compensation ! 

* Trelat was an advanced liberal, and in 1830 plunged into secret 
societies ; he defended the accused of the insurrection of April of that year 
with such vehemence that he was fined 1 1,000 fr., and sentenced to three 
years' imprisonment for his attacks on the judges whom he had formerly 
known as Carbonari. After filling various other posts in '48, he was made 
Vice-President of the National Assembly and, on the 12th of May, Minister 
of Public Works ; he retired in June before the insurrection. 



142 PARIS IN '48. [Mayi6th. 

XXV. 

May 1 6th, 7 a.m. 

I have been waked by the rappel, and though I am 
told that It is only to relieve the National Guard who 
have been up all night, still it is too ominous a sound 
for me to go to bed again, and I may as well give you 
some idea of the day we spent yesterday. The news- 
papers give a very good account of the invasion of the 
Chamber, but I do not think they dwell sufficiently 
on the zeal of the legions, on the energy and decision 
shown for the first time by order against disorder. I 
don't think even the 24th of February was more pain- 
fully exciting. We went to the Tuileries and saw the 
bands with their banners proceeding across the bridges, 
vociferating awfully for Poland ; but, as I said in the 
morning, this cry was a blind to proclaim Barb^s and 
Blanqui. The bridge was not defended ; the guard, 
both mobile and sedentaire, were ordered to sheathe 
their bayonets and put their ramrods into their guns 
to show they were not loaded and, in opposition to 
the orders of Buchez and the questors, no attempt was 
made to prevent the mob entering the Assembly. Nay, 
more : the rappel was not beaten in the streets till 
after the Chamber was in the hands of the anarchists 



Mayi6th.] THE CHAMBER INVADED. 143 

and till the clubs were about to proclaim their Provi- 
sional Government, and then the officers ordered it on 
their own responsibility, and sent fifty men to escort 
the drums. Degous6e one of the questors rushed to 
the tribune and, in the presence of the mob pouring 
in with their standards, some blood-red as in '93, others 
veiled with crape and others emblematic of sedition or 
mourning, impeached Courtais for treason. This was 
quite evident, as not one of the orders given for de- 
fending the Assembly had been obeyed, and those 
which could not openly be evaded had been rendered 
useless by the cartridges and bayonets having been 
removed. At first the Deputies behaved well save a 
few, among whom were the biggest talkers, who dis- 
appeared at the very first with the bishop and the 
women in the galleries, under pretence of protecting 
them. Jules de Mornay was most intrepid, and made 
fruitless efforts to keep the violent demagogues from 
the tribunes ; one of the secretaries had his cheek 
almost torn off by the point of a flagstaff which he was 
trying to wrest from a club leader, and some other 
representatives were rather badly treated. It is said 
Clement Thomas Colonel of the 2nd Legion was 
wounded, and he was immediately proclaimed Com- 
mander of the National Guard. Courtais was arrested 



144 PARIS IN '48. [May i6th. 

near the Hotel de Ville after a fierce resistance, and 
Mons. Niewerkerque who assisted in his capture has 
part of his epaulet as a souvenir.^ I have rather anti- 
cipated the march of events in mentioning this capture, 
which was the first step towards the restoration of order, 
instead of mentioning the horrible panic that seized us 
when we heard that the Republique sociale was proclaimed, 
that Barb^s, Blanqui, and Raspail formed the executive 
power, and that the Assembly was dissolved. Never 
was there such an anxious moment. Communism put 
in practice implied spoliation or the scaffold, perhaps 
both. All the men were under arms, and the sergeant 
who carried orders said: " Que les paralytiques marchent, 
que les boiteux courent aux armes, ou tout est perdu ! " 
Fortunately our legion was the nearest to the scene of 
action. Mons. de Tracy gave vigorous orders ; the 
company of the Rue Neuve St. Augustin, with the help 
of the Mobile, dispersed the * Clubistes ' and reinstated 
the representatives. Other companies proceeded to the 
Hotel de Ville, and there arrested the ringleaders, in- 
cluding Albert late member of the Government. It 
is said Huber has blown his brains out and I wish 
they would all imitate him, for the trial of these men 

1 Mons. Niewerkerque was a sculptor of Dutch extraction, and was in 
1849 appointed Director-General of the National Museums at Paris. 



Mayi6th.] VOTE TO SUPPRESS CLUBS. 145 

will give rise to more demonstrations, more uncertainty 
and more danger/ 

I fully believe in the triumph of moderation, but 
at what cost I do not even like to think. Adolphe 
has been out since one o'clock yesterday ; he sent word 
that he was at the bivouac of the Luxembourg, and 
that no fighting was apprehended, but we know nothing 
of him this morning. 

I I o'clock. — I have been out for news, and cannot 
hear anything ; this morning's rappel has called out 
the very few men who did not pass the night under 
arms, and our lieutenant is still on duty. The streets 
and bridges near the Assembly are densely crowded, 
but with a well-disposed mob crying "Vivel'Assem- 
blee Nationale, a bas les Clubs ; " this was the cry 
last night on the whole line of the boulevards. I 
went up to the Rue Montmartre in the evening, and 
heard in every group the greatest applause of the 
energetic measure that closed the Clubs last night, I 
hope for ever. The difficulty now is to weed out the 
traitors who are in the National Assembly : besides 
Barbes and Albert who are arrested, we have Louis 



1 This rumour concerning Huber, who was a currier by trade and had 
been made Governor of the Royal Park of Raincy, was howet^er incorrect ; 
though arrested by the National Guard he escaped to England. 



146 PARIS IN '48. [Mayi6th. 

Blanc, Bac from Limoges,^ and perhaps Ledru RoUin, 
though he apparently behaved well yesterday. 

There is a report there was some fighting at the 
Prefecture de Police ; also a collision between the 
Montagnards, Caussidiere's troops, and the National 
Guard of the outskirts near Suresnes, in which the 
latter were worsted. People are beginning again to 
talk of pillage, but I hope there is no cause for appre- 
hension ; at least, I trust it may not be to-day when 
all our forces are concentrated in the more central 
part of the town. I will write again or at all events 
send papers, but I cannot indite long letters under 
such excitement and uneasiness. 

P.S. — Adolphe is come home ; his battalion was 
the one that cleared the Assembly, and also that ran- 
sacked the Commune de Paris ; they captured many 
arms and some ammunition and papers ; a few men 
were shot in the Rue St. Honore. He is so tired he 
can hardly speak.^ 

1 Bac was a brilliant advocate famous for his defence of Madame 
Lafarge, the poisoner ; he had great influence with the working classes, and 
belonged to the democratic Opposition. In '48 he was returned to the 
Assembly, where he sat on the Commission for Foreign Affairs and was an 
orator of the ' Montagne.' He opposed the Presidency and supported the 
vote of thanks to Cavaignac. 

2 De Mornay, who attempted to keep order during the invasion of the 
Assembly described above, was an agriculturist, not a politician ; he was 



MayiSth.] AFTER THE STORM. 147 



XXVI. 

May 1 8th. 

I have just received your letter of Monday and, 
as usual, I have to thank you for the very flattering 
manner in which you receive my news. 1 wrote a 
great deal this week, because it has indeed been most 
eventful, and the danger is not over. There are traitors 
everywhere, and some of the persons arrested at great 
personal risk by the National Guard have been let out. 
Mons. Duvergier de Hauranne who has done a great 
deal of mischief, said a very true thing yesterday, when 

Inspector-General of Agriculture in 1841, and in '48 was first divisional 
Chief and then Director-General of Agriculture. 

Clement Thomas was on the staff of the National; in '48 he was Com- 
missary to the Gironde and, after the action of the 15th of May, he was 
made Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard. On account, however, 
of his contemptuous treatment of the Legion of Honour, he was obliged 
in June to hand over his command to Changarnier. 

Raspail held doctrines closely connected with a system of Pantheistic 
philosophy, with a tendency towards radical Communism, but he was 
opposed to sudden or violent reform of the laws of land tenure and of 
property 5 he considered Lamartine best suited to conciliate the various 
factions. He was distrusted by the most radical members of the Provisional 
Government but had great personal influence, partly on account of his 
medical skill, in the democratic faubourgs. A rumour was circulated that 
he was preaching a crusade against the wealthy, but this does not appear 
to be borne out by his paper the Ami du Peuple. Raspail was persecuted 
for his opinions, and thei'eupon made a violent attack on the Provisional 
Government which he denounced as reactionary 5 he was frequently 
imprisoned. 



148 PARIS IN '48. [MayiSth. 

he declared that " une Pentarchie n'est superieure en 
rien a une Monarchie." Five disunited heads are 
worse than one however ill advised, and time is irre- 
parably lost ; if the ringleaders of Monday are brought 
to trial, which I doubt, they will be tried by a common 
jury and acquitted ! It is, however, infinitely more 
probable that they could make most dangerous revela- 
tions concerning those actually in power, and that some 
sort of rescue will be connived at. Lamartine rose a 
little in public esteem for a moment on Monday, but 
he again lost ground when he remained silent during 
Caussidiere's speech accusing him of having authorised 
the formation of Sobrier's bodyguard. I know we 
have not a man for a counter-revolution, but if we 
had, the knell of the Republic would sound instantly ; 
as it is, we shall drag on amidst conspiracies and 
dangers till the present Government perish under the 
weight of public contempt. Already they are openly 
attacked ; common sense is getting the better of passion. 
Those who hailed cheap Government say " Why have 
we an additional tax of 45 centimes ? " those who 
loved equality are indignant at the dictatorship of 
Paris, and all who wish for peace shudder at the war- 
cry raised by the Republicans. The Assembly is de- 
cidedly composed of very inferior men ; all who excited 



MayiSth.] TROOPS COMING IN. 149 

envy by their talents have been ostracised. The old 
Left are bestirring themselves, and it cannot be for 
good. We had trusted to the chapter of accidents, 
and we are falling back into the old routine. Another 
conflict between the partisans of order and the Socialists 
cannot long be put off, and I trust it may be decisive ; 
but I do not believe in the prestige of bloodless vic- 
tories, and I greatly fear our civic guard will gain no 
others. We have however got in eight regiments of 
the Line, and more are coming, besides the National 
Guard, from the provinces. Our ouvrier Bernard 
whom I mentioned last week, is either a coward or a 
traitor : he is said to have spent the morning with 
Barb^s, and at all events he did not appear in uniform ; 
the battalion thereupon refused to obey him, and re- 
mained under the orders of the second in command 
who had led them since morning. ... I have just 
heard that there is a rassemhlement in the Champs 
Elys^es about to petition for the release of Barbes, and 
we are going out to see what is taking place. ... I 
do hope you may come over ; there is no danger, even 
should an insurrection break out under your very 
windows ; the love of property is very strong and, as 
any rising now would be Communist, it would be 
very easily put down. The papers I prefer are the 



150 PARIS IN '48. [May 28th. 

Constitutionnel and the AssemhUe Nationale, but the 
Dibats has the best stenographer, so it is perhaps 
better for a distance. 



XXVII. 

May 28th. 

I really must follow the march of events ; they 
come so fast that, while I am giving you news of a 
revolution, I am interrupted to proclaim the counter- 
revolution. We had a patriotic funeral on Thursday, 
and a national fete on Sunday ; what a people, and 
what a Government ! On Tuesday the National 
Assembly votes the suppression of Clubs, and three 
days after the most moderate member of the Executive, 
Lamartine, becomes president of one. Courtais is 
degraded by his men, proclaimed a traitor by all, and 
the official organ of Government, the National^ asks 
compassion for "the misfortune of an old soldier." 
Eighty conspirators are let loose hy order of the Prefect 
of Police who says he lectured them all, and as they 
were his friends he feels great confidence in their 
amendment ! A collection of arms is seized at the 
Commune de Paris, and it is proved that they were 
delivered by the Minister of War, and no one in an 



May 28th.] ABSURD DEBATE. 151 

Assembly of nine hundred supposed to represent the 
elite of the nation and invested with confidence by- 
universal suffrage, rises to ask why all these iniquitous 
acts are under the sanction of the Executive ! No, 
while every deputy misdoubts his neighbour and firmly 
believes that he would have joined Barbes, that very 
evening a vote of thanks is passed unanimously, and 
these thanks are addressed to the persons who gave 
way before the tumult, and not to those who risked 
their lives to restore order. After Monday, energetic 
measures were not only imperative but they were 
easy, and not one was resorted to. Caussidiere 
resigned^ he was not dismissed ; the Republican Guard 
was thanked a good deal, slightly lectured, and dis- 
banded with a promise of employment elsewhere ; and 
then the Assembly set to work to decide how they 
would dress in any future danger ! First an em- 
broidered ribbon tied to the left button-hole was 
highly approved of, but considered not quite showy 
enough, and a questor proposed a scarf This was 
still more admired, but gave rise to a serious discussion : 
some wanted to wear it over the shoulder like a cordon, 
others round the waist, like a commissaire de police. To 
settle the matter, some one went up to the tribune 
and moved the ribbon from left to right, from his 



152 PARIS IN '48. [May 28th. 

neck to his waist, till he succeeded in getting a vote 
in favour of the shoulder. This success emboldened 
another man who proposed that each deputy should 
have a locket, whether for his wife's hair or a lock of 
Lamartine's I know not, but this was not adopted. 
First Etienne Arago in full uniform gave us his 
autobiography, read us his correspondence, tried to 
move us by an account of his fraternal affection, and 
assured us that he left the Assembly in the middle of 
the tumult, merely to squeeze his brother's hand. 
Then Buchez got up and expressed the wish that we 
had all been able to place our hand on his heart, and 
feel how calm he was in the presence of the mob. And 
lastly, Charras (the Minister of War ad interim) recited 
a dialogue he had had with a commander "que je 
tutoie par une an^ienne habitude," and begged us all 
to be satisfied with his immense internal firmness. 
Cavaignac shook his head, said two or three words, 
and faute de mieux we took it for granted they meant 
something, but I have my doubts. After this personal 
debate, amusing from its excessive absurdity, we had 
the discussion of the address to the country, and here 
again began that war of words got up to hide the 
poverty of ideas. The draft of the address said " une 
poigne6 de factieux," but this mild description was 



May 28th.] TRIVIAL DISCUSSION. 153 

vigorously combated by a man who had been horribly 
frightened, and who insisted upon saying " une horde ;" 
another preferred " une bande ; " and a man behind me 
made me laugh, saying '* Mettons une pinc6e, et que 
cela finisse." To conciliate all parties, it was agreed 
to say " des factieux," and thus ended one day's de- 
liberations ! Can anything be more pitiable when such 
tremendous questions are at stake ? Will no one 
inquire into the state of the finances, into the necessity 
for levying fresh troops, when it is impossible to carry 
on war even for a week ? Will no one ask why so 
many waited with arms folded, ready to join Barbes 
and the Comite de Salut Public, Louis Blanc, or the 
'Travailleurs, or Buchez and the Assembly, as soon 
as any one of them could carry the day ? ^ 

I am sure that if there had not been discord in the 
mob, the scale would have turned in their favour, and 

' Etienne Arago who took part in this farcical discussion, was a brother 
of Emmanuel Arago, a dramatist and in 1829 director of the Theatre de 
Vaudeville ; he was editor of the old Figaro. In '48 he was appointed head 
of the Post Office, and introduced cheap postal service. He opposed Louis 
Napoleon, and was sentenced in default to transportation. 

Charras wrote military articles in the Natmial • he had served in Algiers, 
and in '48 was promoted to be Colonel, and acted as under-secretary in the 
Ministry of War until the arrival of Cavaignac, May 15th. In the 
Assembly he voted at first with the moderate Democrats, and supported 
Cavaignac. He opposed Louis Napoleon's policy, and was imprisoned at 
the Coup d'Etat, and afterwards expelled to Belgium. 



154 PARIS IN '48. [May 28th. 

all France would have been proclaimed Socialist on the 
1 6th of May, as it was declared Republican on the 25th 
of February ; in both instances a fierce minority would 
have upset a cowardly majority. Now it must all 
begin over again, for the National Guard supported 
by troops, and perfectly well aware that their heads and 
property are at stake, will fight ; but it is to be hoped 
the collision may come soon, before their present 
ardour is cooled, and also before they have time to 
put their possessions in safety. I have no patience 
with the Legitimists who believe that they are working 
for their end by supporting the social revolution. 
What insanity to hope to restore Divine Right on the 
ruins of family ties ! We are told that the row will 
break out to-morrow, not with cries as last week, but 
with arms. One hundred and fifteen thousand work- 
men may join the Insurrection, besides the usual 
amount of barricade-makers, and then, indeed, there 
will be a horrible conflict. I never believe in things 
announced beforehand, and I Intend to go to the 
Assembly and hear Mons. de Lamartlne attempt to 
justify his line of policy, which in three months has 
brought us from profound peace to the brink of a 
general war. Any coup de main against the Chamber 
would be insanity just now. I went on Friday with 



May 28th.] PATRIOTIC FETE. 155 

Mrs. Blount, and though we did not look like the 
enthusiastic defenders of Poland, we were obliged to 
show our tickets to the Garde Mobile on the bridge, 
to the National Guard on the quai, to the troops of 
the Line in the Rue de Bourgogne, to the cavalry on 
the Place, to the Gardiens de Paris in the courtyard, 
to the ushers in the passage, and I thought the artillery 
looked at us very suspiciously besides. 

The fete yesterday was very absurd ; all the trades 
that have been enjoying the far niente of the Republic 
turned out their stock-in-trade on ornamented carts, and 
their shop-girls in white gowns and tricoloured garlands, 
to howl * Mourir pour la patrie ' with a melancholy 
accent. The leading trades had tricoloured parasols and 
their complexions only turned scarlet, the petty trades 
had none and became blood-red ; all were hideous and 
many past thirty. To the question *' Monsieur, est- 
ce que ce sont les vierges du Ministere de I'lnterieur } " 
the indignant answer was " Non, monsieur, ce sont 
des demoiselles de magasin." Those from the Con- 
servatoire who, the Reforme said, " sortiraient sans leurs 
meres pour la premiere fois," were rather more absurd 
than the rest, as they had short sleeves and sang from 
a book. There was also a grand piano on a cart, 
played by a patriot and said to be very harmonious. 



156 PARIS IN '48. [May 28th. 

but as it was preceded by drums I am no judge of it. 
In addition there was a small steam-engine, but it was 
drawn by unruly horses and seemed typical of the 
very dangerous state of railroads in France. In the 
evening I went to the Champ de Mars which was 
brilliantly illuminated, and saw the colossal statue of 
Liberty ; she is leaning on a sword as though about 
to transfix herself upon it, which also looks like a 
satire. The fireworks were small and insignificant, but 
the illuminations in the Champs Elys6es were lovely ; 
I believe there were no accidents, but it was a melan- 
choly sort of diversion, and all its pagan pageantry 
could not make the population gay under present cir- 
cumstances. All classes are beginning to feel that 
whether the form of government is bad or its representa- 
tives inefficient, a Republic does not do here. Very 
great fears are entertained with regard to the social 
movement ; George Sand and Pierre Leroux have 
much to answer for.^ The former assisted at the 
revolution of Monday, embracing the Garde Mobile 
who unfixed their bayonets, and distributing money to 

1 Pierre Leroux, a philosopher and political economist, was a follower 
of St. Simon in his earlier doctrines. He founded the Encyclopedie 
Nou'velle, and with Viardot and George Sand the Renjue Indi'vidualiste. 
He was a speculative Socialist, and in the Assembly he voted with the 
' Montagne.' 



May 29th.] STRONG PRECAUTIONS. 157 

all who cried * Vive Barbes.' After the expulsion of 
the rabble, she said " C'est un coup manque, ce sera 
a recommencer." I send you the Sobrier decrees 
which I do not think have got into any paper ; I hope 
you like the Assemhlee Nationale ; in my opinion it is 
the best paper we have, and it most truly represents 
the feelings which are in all hearts, but which few 
have the courage to express. If we continue in such 
a state of ferment, I shall cease altogether to write 
legibly, for when I have much to say my pen runs 
into lines utterly regardless of form. 



XXVIII. 

May 29th, 7 a.m. 

The rappel has been beating for two hours, so I 
suppose we are to have some great demonstration 
to-day. I heard yesterday that the second battalion 
would be called out, but this is the fourth so it shows 
that they want a good supplementary force ; the cause 
of this is the dissolution of the National Workshops, or 
rather their reduction to some sort of use. Instead 
of allowing one hundred and fifteen thousand men to 
dig useless ditches and to take drives in wheelbarrows 



158 PARIS IN '48. [May 29th. 

about the Pare Monceau, a revision of all those in- 
scribed on the list was made on Thursday, and here 
the most wondrous abuses came to light. First, out 
of the startling total, not more than fifty thousand 
could be found really without other means of sub- 
sistence : some families who had eight children on the 
books, could only prove the usual national allowance 
of two ; others were obliged to own that they were 
porters in private houses, and many were released 
convicts. When all these deductions were made, only 
thirty-eight thousand remained, and many of them 
belonged to trades still in request, such as shoemaking, 
tailoring, etc. This reduced the numbers to twenty- 
three thousand, but it is rather late to reform after 
three months' additional taxation to support this 
nuisance. It seems a most unanswerable argument 
against a Republic, that all in whom it trusts are found 
wanting. The Prefect of Police turns out to be a 
scoundrel, the head of the National Guard a traitor ; 
the intended Minister of Progress convulses the 
country to its very centre, and this work of moral 
destruction is completed by the Minister of the Interior. 
All these crimes, however, are less felt than Emile 
Thomas' misappropriation of the funds of the National 
Workshops ; this is only to be estimated by millions 



May 29th.] EMILE THOMAS REMOVED. 159 

divided between him and his worthy underlings.^ He 
was taken from Monceau the night before last, and sent 
to Bordeaux in a post-chaise, accompanied by the peace 
officers " qui n'ont d'autre mission," as he says in a 
letter to his mother, " que de s'assurer de mon arrivee 
dans la Gironde." Since his departure the agitators 
have been at work with his men, and are getting up 
monster petitions for him, for Barbes and tutti quanti^ 
which they mean to take to the Chamber to-day or to- 
morrow. This will be the signal for a fresh invasion, and 
is perhaps the reason of the immense display of troops 
this morning. I meant to go to the Chamber, but am 
rather shaken in my intention by the builder, who says 
the edifice is not strong enough to bear another rush 
like that of the 1 5th. I am not afraid of the mob, but 
there is no excitement in being crushed among the 
ruins ; besides, there is no real interest in any dis- 
cussion ; the new members hardly speak, or at all 
events so badly that their eight hundred colleagues 
drown their voices with exclamations, and I have been 



' Emile Thomas, a civil engineer and professor of rural economy, was 
also a political writer. In '48 he was appointed to the difficult post of 
director of the National Workshops, from which he was arbitrarily removed 
by Tr^lat. In '49 he went to the Colonies to study free labour ; he 
edited the Journal du 10 Decembre •, in '51 he resumed his profession as 
an engineer. 



i6o PARIS IN '48. [May 29th. 

hearing the old Left praising themselves for so many- 
years, that I am quite tired of it. Even Lamartine's 
great speech upon Poland was very inferior to his 
former eloquence ; from the habit of addressing masses 
of the lower orders he has become theatrical, and far 
more inflated than he was before. Altogether I am 
disappointed in this Assembly, not only as regards 
sense and talent, but as a moral force. Never was a 
ministerial majority better drilled ; they will vote any- 
thing : funds to those whose malversations are the 
theme not only of every conversation, but of every 
journal ; confidence to Ministers whose impeachment 
is daily discussed, and the maintenance of the Republic, 
though most of the provinces are as hostile to it as I 
am ! Is it not strange that, as long as we had no 
Government, we were perfectly quiet .? no serious 
imeute took place between the 26th of February and 
the 4th of May ; we then had no organised poHce, no 
garrison, no Legislative Assembly of any sort, and yet 
we lived on upon public forbearance ; since the 4th 
we have had the rappel every morning, the outrage of 
the 15th, the worst possible news from the depart- 
ments, and no feeling of even temporary security. 
The first instruments of the Revolution are now worn 
out, and we don't know where to look for others ; 



May 29th.] CONTRADICTORY RUMOURS. i6i 

Lamartine's popularity was not great enough to uphold 
Ledru Rollin, and In the effort he was lost himself ; 
Arago has had too many brothers, sons, and nephews — 
his nepotism will bring him down. Cavalgnac Is com- 
pletely governed by his mother and this, being known, 
has not a good effect ; he is subsisting on the renown 
of a dead brother, but that too is becoming ancient 
history. Louis Blanc whose part in the affair of the 
15th becomes every day more clearly defined, is to be 
attacked to-day by Portalls, and will probably be sent 
to join his noble friend Albert at VIncennes. You 
will see that Bulwer was right when he said, years ago, 
that the whole of France was Left Centre. We are 
gradually coming round to Thiers, and will not that 
termination of a democratic and social revolution be 
even more unexpected than the event itself ? " II ny 
a rien de probable que ce qui est impossible " should 
be our motto. 

1 1 a.m. I have been out to pick up news, and 
I hear the most contradictory reports. Some say 
Henri V. has been proclaimed at Monceau, others 
that the Prince de Joinville has arrived at Havre, 
thus giving two distinct objects to the same move- 
ment. Without however thinking of the end I must 
tell you what really happened : the National Workshops 

M 



1 62 PARIS IN '48. [May 29th. 

were under arms at two o'clock in the morning, and 
marched upon the Hotel de Ville at four o'clock ; I 
presume they were stopped or repulsed, for I hear 
they have gone back to the Plaine Monceau. Adolphe 
is still confined to his room, which I shall be glad of 
if there is to be any fighting : I still doubt this, although 
it does seem inevitable from the exasperation of the 
most moderate and the demands of the mob ; I think 
the National Guard will say to their brothers (official 
style): "Consider yourselves beaten," and they will 
obey until some unguarded door again allows them 
access to supreme power. It is really ludicrous to see 
the total want of conviction and political principle. I 
was talking yesterday to an influential deputy ; first he 
evaded all my questions, saying Monarchy was incom- 
patible with universal suffrage, that the country was 
decidedly democratic, etc., etc. ; but when I put the 
home question '* What would you do if the Prince de 
Joinville were to come over ? " he could only answer, 
" II faudrait voir avec qui il reviendrait, et s'il avait 
pour lui le nombre, eh bien ! je me serais trompe, et 
avant tout il faudrait eviter reffiision de sang." This, 
from an undeniably upright and well-meaning man, is 
decisive ; France is ready for any one or anything, 
perfectly sick of the oppression of the National^ and 



May 29th.] SHUFFLING OF PARTIES. 163 

disgusted to find in a pure Republic none but democrats 
more grasping than financial magnates. 

The clubs which the Executive promised to close 
are in full vigour ; it is true that they talk egregious 
nonsense, but also true that they do a great deal of 
mischief. Madame Niboyer " Presidente du club des 
femmes," made a proposition the other day " pour 
I'abolition de tout age et de tout sexe ! " — she meant 
to extend the suffrage to women and children, but the 
wording was odd. The curious political societies are 
all stirring for the elections which are to take place 
on the 4th of June, if the Assembly still subsists at 
that time. Who can look forward a week .? If the 
people are reasonable, I think the forty new nomina- 
tions will strengthen the old Left which has become 
the Right of a Chamber where the Left is * la 
Montagne,' and has at its summit Barbes, Albert and 
Louis Blanc ; in that case we should have Thiers, 
Emile de Girardin, Hyppolite Passy, Victor Hugo, 
A. Weill, Villa an intelligent and honest workman, 
and perhaps Achille Fould the banker.^ 

1 Achille Fould, of Jewish parentage, was a financial specialist in the 
Chamber, to which he was returned In July, '4.8 ; he was for reform on 
moderate lines, and a Protectionist. He accepted the portfolio of finance 
in '51, but retired in '52 on the decree against the property of the House 
of Orleans. 



PARIS IN '48. 



[May 29th. 



The extreme candidates are known only to their 
own coterie, and I can give you no idea of what they 
are. The decree concerning railways will be rejected, 
as it is considered to be an approach towards Com- 
munism ; so will that upon mortgages, as falling heavily 
on the very numerous class of small landed proprietors ; 
so I don't see where the Government can turn for 
new resources ; at present its expenses are said to 
exceed its receipts by 2,500,000 fr. a day. So much 
for cheap government ! The law of divorce is as 
unwise as it is uncalled for ; all the prejudices of the 
country are against it, and religiously speaking it is 
impossible in a Catholic nation ; it would be the first 
step towards the establishment of a Gallican Church, 
which I have always thought would spring from the 
Republic. All this is very uninteresting, but I have 



Hyppolite Passy served first in the army ; after Waterloo he wrote in 
the National and published a ' Study of the Aristocracy in Relation to the 
Progress of Civilisation.' In '30 he was a moderate Liberal ; as an econo- 
mist of the Left Centre, he was put forward in opposition to Duchatel. He 
was Minister of Finance in '34, failed to form a Cabinet, 1839, ^^^ gave 
way to Thiers in '40 ; he took his seat in the House of Peers, 1 843 ; was 
in the first Ministry of Napoleon, and directed finance from December, '48, 
to October, '49, during which time he advocated reactionary taxes. 

Weill (b. 1813) was an Alsatian Jew who collaborated with Louis 
Blanc on the Revue du Progres and other papers. In '48 he was on the 
staff of La Presse. Subsequently, in the Gazette de France, he attempted a 
defence of Constitutional Monarchy from the legal point of view. 



Juneist] CHECK TO THE GOVERNMENT. 165 

no positive facts or anecdotes for you ; there is a sort 
of atmosphere of conspiracy, an undefined sense of 
danger on all sides, but as yet not even an indication 
of the colour the impending movement will take ; I 
almost hope it will be Socialist, for then it will be 
immediately put down, but I do not feel sure of 
unanimity in the event of any other standard being 
raised. If there is a split among the friends of order, 
then the other party will be the most numerous, and 
that is the reason I prefer the worst. Pray excuse 
this dull letter ; it makes me stupid to get up at five 
in the morning ; although I sleep beautifully to the 
drumming of a march, the rappel wakes me as if it 
were beaten on my chest. I send a clever paper in 
the style of Punchy and a curious letter of Barbes. 



XXIX. 

June I St. 

As the emeute of yesterday ended in a demonstra- 
tion, I had nothing worth writing about and indeed, 
except from habit, I do not know why I write to-day ; 
everything is going on so badly that no one seems 
willing to attempt improvement. Lamartine met with 
a decided check on Tuesday, but he did not seem to 



PARIS IN '48; 



[June I St. 



care, and no one listened to the flowery language 
in which he championed the programme of the com- 
mission. The Executive wanted to defeat the Chamber, 
the Assembly gave the Government to understand 
they were not worthy of the trust, and the great orator 
merely came forward to say " Oh ! very well, take 
care of yourselves then." They have given way on 
all points, they cannot carry a single measure ; I don't 
think they will be able to influence a single election, 
and yet they cling to the shadow of the power with 
which they are so reluctantly invested. They have 
all robbed except Bethmont ; in the sale of horses of 
the Civil List ordered last week, all the Arabs were 
marked in the catalogue " Retires par ordre du citoyen 
Lamartine ; " Flocon, who insists on being called Son 
Excellence (a title withdrawn from Ministers in 
1830), ordered part of the Palace of St. Cloud to be 
prepared for Madame Flocon ; and Madame Thomas, 
mother of the director of the National Workshops, 
has stocked Monceau with deer from the park at 
Raincy. There is no end to the robbery and waste 
of these self-elected dictators ; when the King's eff^ects 
are really sold for the benefit of his creditors they 
will be found insufficient to pay his debts, and this 
will be made an excuse for confiscation. I heard the 



Juneist.] BELITTLING CRITICISM. 167 

discussion upon the Travailleurs on Tuesday, and the 
facts brought to the tribune would have been most 
ridiculous if their results were not so deplorable. 
One man said " Je pourrais revendiquer le titre 
d'ouvrier, mais ce serait la une pretention aristocra- 
tique plus grande, plus significative que celle que 
s'arrogeait autrefois le titre de Comte ou de Marquis." 
I could not find out the name of this worthy repre- 
sentative, but I was much pleased with Mons. Grandin 
who followed him and who, after a vigorous attack 
upon the Government, concluded with these words : 
'* Permettez-moi la comparaison, le pouvoir est comme 
Don Juan entre les deux maitresses, il dit a Femeute, 
* Je suis avec vous,' a I'ordre * comptez sur moi,' " and 
he asks us for a vote of confidence ! I am sorry I 
could not go to the Chamber yesterday to hear the 
defence of Louis Blanc ; every one knows he was 
deeply implicated in the conspiracy of the 15th of 
May, and yet I am sure that measures against him 
will not be authorised. Madame Thayer, General 
Bertrand's daughter, after being rescued from the 
public tribune in which she was nearly crushed by 
the mob, attempted to pass a ferocious - looking 
sentinel, but he resolutely refused to obey the man 
she was with although he did carry a flag, saying : 



1 68 PARIS IN '48. [Juneist. 

" Louis Blanc m'a donne ce poste, lui seul peut me 
relever." 

Albert's first words on being arrested were " Me 
mettra-t-on avec Louis Blanc ? " In fact, no doubt 
remains in any one's mind that every one is afraid 
of the workmen on whom his influence is still very 
great, and he will probably come out with flying 
colours. As no one's conscience is quite clear with 
regard to the 15th of May, every one is anxiously 
looking out for the excuse for an amnesty ; this will 
be granted if the Executive ever have a majority, or 
if a Constitution can be got together, or if a fresh 
conspiracy comes to alarm the public in another 
direction ; then we shall see a full pardon granted 
to the conspirators of February and of May : Barbes 
and Guizot, Blanqui and Duchatel, Flotte the demo- 
cratic cook, and Hubert 'Garde des sceaux du tyran,' 
Courtais and Trezel, Albert and the Due de Monte- 
bello. Perhaps if we can implicate Lamartine we may 
pardon him and Louis Philippe the same day, and 
exonerate the citizen Joinville as an equivalent to 
Etienne Arago, heir to the Republican dynasty of 
the National} 

^ Duchatel's share in bringing about the revolution of February was an 
involuntary one, as he was a blindly confident Conservative until '48, when 



Juneist.] THIERS' CONCESSIONS. 169 

The elections are to take place on Sunday, and not 
the least strange of all the excentricitis de PEspagne is 
that Thiers is to be supported by the clergy, the 
Jesuits included, and the Legitimists. He has written 
a very Catholic letter to the Archbishop of Rouen, and 
he made some very important concessions on secondary 
education, on which point he was once at variance with 
the whole clergy. I am afraid Hypolite Passy will not 
be nominated, and yet no one has a better financial 
head, and he has energy enough to carry out the 
various measures which can alone save public credit ; 
all the present plans are impossible or worse than the 
evil they are intended to remedy. I was reading 
yesterday an extract from the opinion of Henri Fourier, 

his career closed. He had been successively Councillor of State and Royal 
Commissioner to the Chamber in 1831 ; Minister of Commerce 1834, of 
Finance 1836, of the Interior 1840. 

Hebert was Advocate-General of the Court of Cassation, and Royal 
Procurator to the Court at Paris. He was remarkable for his violence in 
several political cases ; in '47 he succeeded Martin du Nord as Minister 
of Justice, but after February, '48, he returned to private legal work. 

Trezel, a peer, fought bravely at Waterloo ; next under the Bourbons in 
Spain and the Morea j then in Africa. He was Minister of War in '47, 
and retired into private life in '48. 

The Due de Montebello a son of Lannes, Napoleon's general, was 
made a peer by Louis Philippe out of respect for his father. He supported 
the King's conservative administration ; went on a mission to Copenhagen, 
1833 ; as Ambassador to Switzerland in 1836, he negotiated the detention 
of prisoners dangerous to France. He was Minister of Marine, 1 847, and 
retired in '48. 



I70 PARIS IN '48. [Juneist. 

published in 1834 and singularly applicable to the 
present crisis ; he says : *' It would be easier to plant a 
tree with its roots in the air than to establish a Republic 
in France ; that form of government is so obnoxious to 
the whole nation, so utterly contrary to its system of 
centralisation, that within a year all France would hail 
any tyrant, even Lucifer himself, in preference to the 
dictatorship imposed upon it by Republicans." This 
is so true that I am looking out for Lucifer, and don't 
exactly know which party to look upon as most 
infernal, Henri V. with his cortege of prejudices and 
emigres^ or the Regency with all its evils. There are 
many partisans of the Prince de Joinville, but this 
would be a silly combination ; without the Comte de 
Paris he is only a usurper who would be despised by 
his natural supporters ; with him it would be difficult 
not to bring back the whole family, and their unpopu- 
larity would soon outweigh the sympathy he has 
acquired by wearing a beard, smoking a short pipe, 
dancing the can-can, singing * Jamais en France 
r Anglais ne regnera,' and calling his children * mes 
mioches.' He may be a popular charcutier, he has not 
the capacity for a popular leader. As to Henri V. 
we know nothing of him, but in very truth France is 
not aristocratic enough for Divine Right ; the nation 



Juneist.] NEWSPAPER AGITATION. 171 

is decidedly bourgeoise, " elle ne peut pas meme se 
faire peuple ; " the ambition of the masses, call it what 
you will, is to become bourgeois. What are the rights 
they clamour for ? the * droit de bourgeoisie ; ' they 
have got it, they are National Guards, electors and 
eligible, so if we could stifle the liberty of the press, 
banish the National and the ReformCy and suppress 
incendiary placards, * le bon peuple ' would be peaceable 
enough ; but flesh and blood cannot stand the incessant 
flattery, intimidation, and imposition practised upon 
them ; they are made use of by tyrannical democrats, 
and will find out too late that they are, under every 
regime alike, tools to be thrown away the day after 
victory. You cannot conceive the wicked provocations 
that appear in the official papers. The Reforme, for 
instance, under Ledru RoUin's patronage, clamours 
loudly against reaction, and says the foyer of the 
conspiracy is Madame le Hon's house in the Champs 
Elysees where the Prince de Joinville is concealed ; 
in consequence of this absurd fable a man with a 
dagger got into the courtyard last week, and swore he 
would not leave without killing some * reactionnaire ; ' 
she was obliged to send for the Mobile and had the 
man arrested. On Tuesday when she was at dinner 
she spied an old hat stuck on her gate but, imagining 



172 PARIS IN '48. [Juneist. 

that some one had tossed it up in fun, she took no 
notice of it until her porter brought it in, as it con- 
tained a note directed to herself. This document 
assured her that it was the identical hat worn by the 
King on his journey to Havre, and sent to her as a 
souvenir on account of her well-known * Philippiste ' 
sympathies. 

Threatening letters are becoming very common, 
which is most painful to nervous persons ; no one 
believes in the re-establishment of the guillotine, but 
every species of annoyance is probable, and no one 
likes to apply for redress to tribunals which in most 
cases would only render the nuisance more intolerable, 
by giving it publicity. Altogether no residence could 
be more unpleasant than Paris now ; no besieged town 
could be more infested with drums, marching, and 
firing ; drunkenness which used to be so rare is now 
so common that, to avoid the contact of the ruling 
blouses, I generally walk in the middle of the street 
where there are now no carriages. The walls are. 
covered with placards that attract crowds to every 
corner ; the hundred and forty-three new journals vie 
with each other in noise and early rising, the National 
is hawked about at six, the Pere Duchene half an hour 
earlier, the Mere Duchene still earlier ; the Journal de 



Juneist.] ELECTIONS IMPENDING. 173 

Robespierre beats them all and comes out at cock- 
crow. This town now presents the spectacle of 
activity without an object, noise without occupation, 
and disorder not exactly amenable to law ; it is very 
sad and so hopeless ! 

A. is again scrutateur for the elections, which 
means he has two days' hard work at the Mairie to 
count up votes forced from some, and given without 
the slightest intelligence by others. I will let you 
know what opinion the successfwl candidates represent 
if, as I expect, the greater part are unknown to the 
world at large. Every one here who looks up five 
minutes a day from the state of France, is most 
anxious about Bulwer. Do you consider him justified 
in England ? We don't, but I hardly venture an 
opinion on English affairs, *j'en parlerais comme un 
aveugle des couleurs.'^ 

1 Bulwer had been appointed Ambassador to the Court of Spain in 1843 5 
in '46 he opposed the Spanish Marriages which, but for Lord Palmerston, 
he might have prevented. In '48 the February rising at Paris was followed 
in March by a rising at Madrid. In putting it down, Marshal Narvaez 
suppressed the constitutional guarantees, whereupon Bulwer protested in 
the name of England. Narvaez denounced him as an accomplice of the 
Progressistas, and on the 12th of June he received his passports. The 
English Parliament supported him, and his post was left vacant for two 
years. 



174 PARIS IN '48. [June 5th. 



XXX. 

June 5th. 

I always try to keep you au courant of what is 
going on but at times it is very difficult as we are in a 
horrible state of stagnation, among abuses innumerable 
and surrounded by treachery and incapacity. The 
authorisation to proceed against Louis Blanc was 
granted by the Assembly, but the President chose to 
insist upon the scrutin de division^ and then all the 
cowards who dreaded seeing their names in the 
Montteur voted in favour of the little scoundrel who 
was the soul of the conspiracy of the i6th of April, 
the accomplice of that of the 1 5th of May, and who 
remains at large to organise that of June, date not 
yet announced. Thiers is nominated at Paris where I 
expect the row will begin very soon ; his nomination 
is regarded as ' le drapeau de la Regence plante au 
coeur de la Republique,' and that by an authority which 
they themselves proclaimed supreme, namely universal 
suffrage. In that case the Red Republic will make an 
appeal to * Republicains de la veille ' and make a 
tremendous struggle for power ; I still believe that 
order will carry the day, but at what price } 

There is no doubt felt now about the incapacity of 



June 5th.] MEDIOCRITY OF MEMBERS. 175 

the National Assembly. A paper says this morning : 
" It is Noah's ark without lions or eagles." And so it 
is ; yet they must make the Constitution, only fortu- 
nately there is nothing binding in any Constitution 
here, and this will be one more to add to the many 
which load the collectors' shelves. You cannot imagine 
the consternation of the real Republicans ; even 
Beranger says : " J'ai reve la R^publique toute ma 
vie, que ne puis-je rever encore 1 " After the profes- 
sional experts in barricades whom we have despatched 
to all foreign capitals, we have now got a very well- 
paid and organised force to make workmen strike for 
increased wages ; the * fraternal ' society of Amiens has 
sent its president to murder Buddicombe the English 
maker of railway carriages at Rouen, and the sub- 
alterns started the same day to organise a universal 
strike ; this scheme is Mons. Duclerc's, to bring the 
companies to terms at any price. ^ Lamartine said 
yesterday that there was no Government ; the Ministers 
will not take the orders of the Executive, and they 
vote with such extraordinary disregard of each other 

1 Duclerc was, from 1834 onwards, a constant contributor of articles on 
economic and financial subjects to various papers. He edited the ' Diction- 
nalre Politique' in 1842, and wrote in the National. In '48 he was 
nominated Deputy-Mayor of Paris and busied himself with municipal 
reforms ; he was subsequently Minister of Finance. 



176 PARIS IN '48. [June 5th. 

that one is tempted to think they draw lots for their 
opinions ; the proposals come from the Assembly not 
from the Government, which leads to waste of time 
and of course prevents any question from meeting 
with a reasonable solution. The Minister of the 
Interior promised last Wednesday to present a law 
against tumultuous associations, and the day after 
to-morrow 150,000 subscribers, at 5 sous a head, are 
to meet on the fortifications for a political banquet ! 
That of February gave us the Republic such as it is, 
may not this one lead to * la R6publique sociale ' ? 

A curious history to write would be that of jour- 
nalism, since the press has been free. The Assemblee 
Nationak began with 30 fr. only in March, struggled 
on as well as it could until April, got private informa- 
tion of the conspiracy of the 1 6th, sounded the alarm 
and rose immensely in public opinion ; it has now 
52,000 subscribers. The editor is a great friend of 
A.'s ; he had lost all his fortune in some unlucky 
speculations and was, in February, waiting for funds to 
return to Brittany and bury himself in some village. 
The Revolution came ; he saw an opening for an 
opposition paper, set boldly to work, and has such 
success that both Government and Reaction want to 
buy him up. I have sent you specimens of most of 



June 8th.] LEGITIMIST PRETENSIONS. 177 

the newspapers ; they are insignificant, except as show- 
ing the spirit of the time and its determination to copy 
the last Revolution in all save the scaffold. If it were 
not so melancholy to see one's friends ruined and one's 
future in such hands, it would be ludicrous to hear a 
Jew banker called an aristocrat, Thiers a Jesuit, Armand 
Marrast a * Modere.' How is all this to end .? No 
one knows, for each day adds to the difficulties. At 
first it was hoped the Legitimists would come to an 
understanding with the Orleanists, and that Henri V. 
would adopt the Comte de Paris ; but now they feel so 
strong that they hope to come back alone, and this is 
impossible. One is baffled, and French gaiety, French 
esprit and buoyancy are lost in the incessant work 
of conjecture ; no one talks anything but politics, and 
worse than that, Paris politics. Vienna, Italy, even 
England are lost sight of in the painful excitement of 
the moment ; we long for change and we are ripe for 
anything, that is all I can say with authority. 



XXXI. 

June 8th. 

. . . For a very short period I have no doubt 
you will find Paris supportable ; as a residence it is 

N 



178 PARIS IN '48. [June 8th. 

detestable. The best quartiers are turned into exer- 
cising grounds for the Garde Mobile ; the National 
Guard drums beat from morning to night ; you hear a 
cry of * Gare ! ' and, when you think you are getting 
out of the way of an omnibus, you are surprised to find 
you have been nearly run over by a cannon ; you 
cannot buy a yard of ribbon from a man in plain 
clothes, nor cross the boulevards without forming 
part of a rassemhlement. Many cry ' Vive Barbes ! ' 
and there are some faint attempts at enthusiasm for 
Louis Napoleon. It is quite certain he will be 
nominated to the Assembly, though perhaps not 
here. Yesterday we were greatly elated to find 
Thiers so high on the list, but to-day we are horrified 
at finding Pierre Leroux, George Sand's collaborator 
in Communism, Proudhon ^ a most energetic Socialist, 
and Lagrange, the very man who fired the first shot 
on the Boulevard des Capucines. Caussidiere we fully 
expected and, though we knew he was a ruffian, we 

1 Proudhon, who was by trade a printer, gained in 1838 an exhibition 
from the College at Besan9on, which enabled him to go to Paris ; he there 
published his famous essay entitled ' What is Property ? ' with the maxim 
' La Propriety c'est le Vol,' His works, contained in twenty-six volumes, 
denounced both the orthodox and Socialist economists. In '48 he edited 
the Representant du Peuple, and he was returned to the Assembly in July ; his 
paper was prosecuted and suppressed, and he was compelled to take to 
flight. 



June 8th.] A CONVICT DEPUTY. 179 

had a sort of leaning towards him, as his election would 
imply a certain censure of the Executive. 

All one's calculations are at fault ; no one believes 
that the present Republic can last a fortnight, and yet 
one almost dreads its downfall, as it is more likely we 
shall be upset in the direction of a Red Republic than 
in that of a restoration. The * Montagne ' only 
counts forty-seven now, but each is more noisy and 
resolute than any ten of the ' Plaine,' and all the timid 
— a good half of the Chamber — will rally round it at 
the crisis ; add to that the Communists who are coming 
in and those who have always belonged to every 
Government, and you will see what an overwhelming 
majority there will be for anarchy. To give you an 
idea of the composition of the Assembly and of the 
enlightened character of universal suffrage, I need only 
relate the history of Mons. Debromel, late representa- 
tive of the Seine Inf^rieure, elected at Rouen. He 
was the Government candidate recommended by Ledru 
Rollin's proconsul, and of course dignified by the quali- 
fication of ' vrai peuple ; ' perhaps he even assumed 
the aristocratic designation of ' ouvrier.' At all events, 
he was nominated, came to Paris, and selected a bench 
in the Chamber of which the elevation coincided with 
his Montagnard principles. He had hardly seated 



l8o PARIS IN '48. [June 8th. 

himself and begun the usual tattoo with the wooden 
knife, when his next neighbour turned round and 
stared at him. Debromel felt rather uncomfortable 
and drew up his cravat ; but his lynx-eyed colleague 
was not to be deceived, and addressed him thus : " Sir, 
I believe I have had the honour of sending you to the 

galleys for murder in 18 — , when I was judge at . 

You had strangled the servant of the cure who brought 
you up, and robbed the worthy man ; oblige me by 
resigning immediately." The next day the Moniteur 
announced that there was a vacancy for Rouen, but 
assigned no motive for the retirement of its former 
protege. Thieves have now no accredited representa- 
tion in the Chamber, but they are ably supported by 
Duclerc the Minister of Finance who is all the more 
useful to them as he has no mandate for the purpose, 
and consequently his schemes often pass unnoticed. 
Mons. Senard the new President is not such a coward 
as Buchez, but he is even less honest. He puts a 
question to the vote, and when it is one in which he 
takes an interest, he says * Adopte,' without putting the 
alternative question : thus laws are passed, which per- 
haps half the deputies would have opposed had he said, 
" Que ceux qui sont contre veuillent bien se lever." ^ 

1 Senard a banister by profession was the son of an architect j in 1830 



June 8th.] WEAPONS CONFISCATED. i8i 

The monster banquet which was to have assembled 
one hundred thousand men under the walls of Vin- 
cennes has been put off, some even say that it is given 
up altogether and that the money subscribed will be 
returned ; this unheard-of measure shows the demon- 
stration was not Republican, for the Republic has 
never been known to return anything. Rumour 
attributes 50,000 fr. to Mons. de Pastoret agent 
for the Comte de Chambord, 50 more to some 
of the Orleanists, and quelques petits ecus to the 
Bonapartists. There are tremendous gatherings every 
night on the boulevards, which are dispersed by charges 
of cavalry and National Guards ; the men are searched, 
and everything larger than a pocket-knife is seized 
upon as a prohibited weapon ; the tyranny of the last 
seventeen years never dared to go so far, and the 
decrees of the Powers that Be bear a very strong 
resemblance to the Ukases for the pacification of 
Poland. 

Light is beginning to dawn upon the affair of 

he led the insurrection against the * Ordonnances ' at Rouen, and was respon- 
sible for the Liberal press in his department. He took part in the Reform 
banquet at Rouen in '47, was Procurator-General there under the Pro- 
visional Government, and by his influence helped to quell the rising during 
the elections. He was returned a deputy, and chosen President of the 
Assembly. In June he co-operated with Cavaignac against anarchy, and 
assisted in his Government as Minister of Justice ad mterim. 



1 82 PARIS IN '48. [June 8th. 

Emile Thomas ; he has stolen vast sums while at the 
head of the National Workshops : his mother kept his 
books, and his brothers catered for themselves to their 
great personal advantage, but sadly to the detriment of 
the unfortunate treasury of the Republic. This he 
does not pretend to deny, but he says if he gives in 
his accounts he will, at the same time, submit to the 
omnipotent Assembly three letters signed Lamartine 
and Ledru RoUin, giving him the plan of the emeutes 
of the 17th of March, the i6th of April, and the 15th 
of May. In consequence of this, he was not sent to 
prison but given an honourable mission to Bordeaux, 
whither he was sent with two gendarmes, who had 
orders to be very civil to him. All the men now in 
prison are united by a ' solidarite de crimes ou de 
vices ; ' all have stolen more or less ; all have sold 
missions of trust to the highest bidder, and now 
Lamartine has been caught in the act by Ledru RoUin. 
We all think the present pentarchy will make way 
for a triumvirate composed of Marrast, Bethmont, and 
Cavaignac. This will not last long ; public opinion 
points to Changarnier for the command of the National 
Guard and, as his speciality is the coup-de-main, he 
will upset this weak expression of the Revolution of 
February ; then we shall see whether the old Left is 



June nth.] LOUIS NAPOLEON ELECTED. 183 

strong enough to attract him ; in that case, with the 
help of Thiers we might have the Regency. If not, 
he may set up for himself but, as I said before, every 
one is so inferior that all one's conjectures fall to the 
ground. Irresolute, cowardly, immoral and incapable, 
such are our present rulers, and I grieve to say I think 
they represent fairly the mass of the nation. The 
debates will confirm my opinion if you take the 
trouble of reading therh ; you will see how the result 
baffles calculation, and how the worst measures always 
have a privy council sanction. ... I really am much 
obliged to you for proposing to return my letters ; I 
suppose I shall appreciate myself highly * a t^te 
repos^e.' 

XXXII. 

June nth. 

I write by post to-day, because great storms are 
brewing, and I think you may be glad to hear of them 
before you get the newspapers. 

The election of Louis Napoleon has fairly con- 
founded every one ; it is evident that he has been 
elected as a Pretender. The groups on the boulevards 
have left off talking of Barbes, or at least they 
associate him with Louis Bonaparte who, having made 



1 84 PARIS IN '48. [June nth. 

no profession of faith, may be claimed by all parties. 
Nothing could be more clever than the way in which 
he has slipped into the national representation ; if his 
candidature had been announced in any paper or 
mentioned even twenty-four hours before the opening 
of the scrutiny a law d'urgence would have been 
passed against him ; every one thought his pretensions 
so very ludicrous that no measures were taken to 
prevent his nomination, and now the Executive are in 
a fix. The wisest plan would be to let him quietly take 
his seat, and crush hiS; importance by leaving him the 
nine-hundredth share in the most tumultuous and 
imbecile Assembly that ever governed a nation ; but 
as he has a party, that party will speak against him 
and say that he has no right to be there, attack his 
origin, his previous life, etc., and demand that his 
election shall be quashed. Here comes a new diffi- 
culty : are the People sovereign or are they not ? If 
they are, his being chosen is a brevet of fitness ; if 
they are not, then February 1848 was not more than 
July 1830, the Republic not more just than the corrupt 
Monarchy of Louis Philippe, and — *c'est a recom- 
mencer.' 

The would-be Emperor will appeal to the authority 
of the street, be carried in triumph and proclaimed. 



June nth.] PROPHETIC FORECAST. 185 

perhaps with the same enthusiasm and by the same 
persons who three short months ago imposed the 
Republic on us. The mob will be joined by small 
tradesmen who think that any master is better than that 
ogre * tout le monde ; ' by some regiments, by the 
Garde Mobile, who have heard something of the Italian 
campaign where their grandfathers got crosses, and by 
the *Vieux de la veille,' who will cry *Vive le petit 
Caporal ' with infinitely more zest than * Vive la 
Rdpublique.' As the Executive have no fanatical 
adherents, they will be left to take care of themselves ; 
the Red Republic will say : " Give us our chiefs ; " the 
Prince will promise an amnesty and conciliate every 
one, saying he only wishes to preside over the Common- 
wealth ; then we shall see, as in 1806, coins with 
' R6publique ' on one side, and * Nap. Emp.' on the 
other. Of course I do not imagine this would last, 
but such is the disgust felt for the actual state of 
things, that I think it highly probable that it will have 
a momentary success ; many serious newspapers expect 
it, and there are daily meetings of influential writers to 
decide what course is to be adopted.^ Happen what 

1 On June 13th the fateful decision was made, in spite of Lamartine and 
the Executive, that Louis Napoleon should be allowed to take his seat ; 
Blanc and Jules Favre were among the shortsighted advocates of this step, 



I86 PARIS IN '48. [June nth. 

will, I do not think a civil war can be put off much 
longer ; the rassembkments are increasing and the 
seditious cries getting louder, while the Draconian law 
of the 1 5th of June cannot be enforced/ We expect 
something to-morrow or Tuesday — the Assembly is 
to be invaded again, and more seriously ; but I doubt 
this, as it is a fortress with an immense garrison 
(18,000 men), and treachery alone can get the better 
of such numbers. The presence of Lagrange who 
fired the first shot on the boulevards in February, is a 
very great danger, but perhaps his ferocity may be 
paralysed by his colleagues. 

Lamartine is sinking every day in public estima- 
tion and, if I had time, I could give you instances of 
his greed and extortion that would astonish you. All 
the horses and carriages kept by all the members of 
Government are put down to the late King's account, 
and among the million of his debts is included the 
keep of fourteen vehicles Emile Thomas had at 
Monceau, and all the grey horses Madame Flocon 
has had in constant use for three months. Such 
pillage is unheard of, and I should not wonder at their 

notwithstanding the warning which the Prince had given by twice showing 
himself in France as a Pretender. 

^ This is probably an allusion to the state of siege proclaimed in 
1832, after the revolutionary outburst of June 5th and 6th. 



June 15th.] WEAKNESS OF THE ASSEMBLY. 187 

opening the door to Communism to screen themselves 
from the accusation of misappropriation of public funds. 
I sent you three papers this morning, and a 
pamphlet which has made a great impression : one of 
the papers contains a list of bankers and their presumed 
fortunes appended ; of course these are grossly 
exaggerated, but they are real proscription lists in the 
present state of popular feeling. 

XXXIII. 

June 15th. 

We did not have a Revolution on Monday, so 
I did not write the details of the new hoax got up, 
I believe, wholly by Government to secure a vote of 
confidence which no one felt inclined to give them ; 
one of the papers, however, says very justly that the 
Assembly never shows the slightest symptom of ap- 
probation except through weakness, and gives itself 
a mea culpa the next day, which finds its expression 
in an insult. So it has been this week, and so it will 
be until some spirit can be infused into the Nation. 
It is impossible to exaggerate more grossly than Mons. 
de Lamartine did when he made his great speech 
about a thunderbolt and a lightning conductor ; the 
pistol shot to which he alluded was quite accidental, 



1 88 PARIS IN '48. [June 15th. 

and the man whose finger was broken has only his 
own carelessness to blame, as the murderous weapon 
went off in his own pocket. It is probable there will 
soon be some outbreak, as the present rule has become 
intolerable, but it will not be an isolated attempt at 
assassination but a levee en masse, which will I fear 
profit the Red Republic. The National Guards are 
getting very tired and, after so many false alarms, one 
can hardly blame them for coming out in such small 
numbers. The Legitimists are hard at work, so are 
the Bonapartists but they only complicate the position. 
It is with constant money the present state of effer- 
vescence is kept up : on Monday a hairdresser whom 
I know was given 10 fr. to cry *Vive Henri V.,' 
but he and his friend forthwith purchased some wine 
stolen from the Tuileries and, in Louis Philippe's bur- 
gundy, drank success to Louis Napoleon ! this is not a 
solitary instance, but I only give what I know for a fact. 
There is a great split in the Imperialist party : the 
fanatical adorers of the Empire adopt the order of 
succession ordained by the Emperor, and choose the 
son of the King of Holland, and the more aristocratic 
portion have a weakness for the Royal blood which 
flows in the veins of the son of J6r6me ; they say 
he is very clever, and he certainly is very like his 



Juneisth.] ORLEANIST DIVISIONS. 189 

glorious namesake ; besides, he never tamed eagles 
nor played any of the monkey tricks with grey coat 
and cocked hat for which his cousin was conspicuous 
at Strasburg and Boulogne.^ 

The Orleanist party which certainly contains the 
cleverest men and the most practical, is also very 
disunited ; the old Left are for the Regency, but 
some want the Duchesse d'Orleans with the Prince 
de Joinville, others her alone, while some wish to 
set her aside altogether. 

There is a third section who profess to be Re- 
publican, but would accept their beloved sailor^ as 
President for life ; this last combination has no chance, 
at least apparently, for now it is impossible to calculate 
on the strength of parties. No one believes in the 
continuance of the Republic, not even the Govern- 
ment, for if they did they would not preface every 
decree, even those concerning the watering of the 
Champs Elysees, with the proclamation that the Re- 
public alone can give stability to France, and that it 
will be eternal and indivisible. 

1 Prince Napoleon was the son of Jerome Bonaparte who, having 
discarded his first wife Miss Patterson of Bahimore, married the daughter 
of the King of Wiirtemberg. He got his sobriquet " Plon-Plon " in conse- 
quence of throwing up his command in the Crimean War. 

2 The Prince de Joinville. 



190 PARIS IN '48. [June 15th. 

I went to the emeute both days, and saw the charges 
of cavalry in the Rue de Rivoli and on the Place ; 
no one cried * Vive la Republique ' except Clement 
Thomas who was immediately answered by 'Vive la 
legion d'honneur,' which he professes to despise ; 
every group seemed agreed in their Monarchical senti- 
ments, and in each there was a man or woman, 
probably a paid agent, who said : " Eh bien, crions 
*abas la Republique et vive I'Empereur ! '" In the 
crowds that I saw no name was pronounced, but I 
am told that at the Chamber Henri V. was loudly 
called for. Fourteen regiments are disaffected, the 
Garde Mobile went out on Monday crying *Vive 
Napoleon,' and the Republican Guard cry *Vive la 
Republique democratique et sociale,' which I think 
is the real danger. 

I have sent you the Imperialist papers which are 
very bad, merely to give you an idea of what is going 
on ; the Constitution which I sent on Monday is 
the only good one. We are in a wretched state of 
anarchy, confusion, and misery, without the excitement 
of positive warfare or the presence of any serious 
party for which one can feel any real sympathy ; 
anything would be better than the Directoire, but 
beyond that no one cares. Bankruptcy is coming on. 



Juneisth.] A PATRIARCH PROTEGE. 191 

slow and sure, under the auspices of Mons. Duclerc ; 
the army is falling wholly into the hands of the non- 
commissioned officers ; many of the appointments to 
Prefectures have been cancelled, because those named 
have been recognised as convicts, and every branch 
of the Legislature is so disorganised that no one will 
undertake the Herculean task of setting things to 
rights. I am told that the Bureaux look as if children 
had been making hay in them, and this is confirmed 
by an anecdote of Lamartine. Shortly after the 
Revolution of February, he wrote on the blank leaves 
of his pocket-book the names of his proteges^ and sent 
the list to be provided with places immediately. 
Previously however, it seems he had scribbled 
* David ' on the page, and the head of the Cabinet 
appointed the said David consul at Bremen ; the 
postulant however never came forward, and though 
the poet does not like being disturbed, Mons. Hetzel 
was obliged to ask who was the David on his list. 

" He who danced before the Ark," was the answer. 

" Oh dear ! I have gazetted him to Bremen ! " 

" How very singular ! I meant him for a subject 
for meditation, not for a nomination ; but you can 
cancel it." 

The Moniteur registered the change ; but few know 



192 PARIS IN '48. [June 19th. 

that the last consul appointed to Bremen was King 
David ! The diplomatic selections are execrable ; no 
respectable man will serve now, though the very next 
Republic may prove more attractive. 



XXXIV. 

June 19th. 

I don't like to let a courier pass without writing, 
and yet I feel I can only add to your gloom by dark 
pictures of a country in which I know you take a 
real interest. Each day seems to sink France some- 
what lower in the scale of nations, and now the 
possibility of a war with Russia complicates the 
situation exceedingly. A war with no one necessary 
element, except an army, must lead to destruction ; 
there are no generals, no funds and, worse than all, 
the spirit of patriotism has ceased to exist. Many 
would prefer a foreign yoke to the ignoble tyranny 
and rapacity of the five Directors.^ 

The comedy of last week has added greatly to 
public contempt, and if Louis Napoleon chooses he 

1 These were Arago, Garnier Pages, Lamartine, Marie, and Ledru 
Rollin. Pagnerre, a librarian and one of the founders of the Cour d'Es- 
compte, was appointed their secretary. 



Junei9th.] PROJECTED RESTORATION. 193 

may now be returned by ten departments. Im- 
perialism will not bear the scrutiny of reason, but 
it is a change and as such it may be tried ; indeed 
I feel it will unless the Pretender backs out. The 
Legitimists say : " Laissez-le venir, il fera I'apparte- 
ment ; " the shopkeepers : " Amenez-le, il nous vaudra 
peut-etre une Cour ; " and the Army : " II nous con- 
duira aux frontieres." His party consists chiefly of 
those who hate and despise the present order of things, 
and though composed of such heterogeneous materials 
that it could not stand, is yet so numerous that it 
has a very great chance of temporary success. A 
rumour is very prevalent here that the preliminaries 
of the treaty between two fallen branches of the 
Bourbons were settled on Friday. The Duchesse 
d'Orleans has, it is said, written to the Due de Bor- 
deaux ^ calling him her King, and asking him to be a 
father to her orphan children ; they say he has sent a 
most satisfactory answer and that, when the Republic 
is quite spent, he will return with the Comte de Paris 
as his heir. 

No one has the slightest idea that the present form 
of government can last ; some say that it is in its 
death-agony, others that it may last three months. If 

1 Comte de Chambord. 

O 



194 PARIS IN '48. [June 19th. 

it lingers so long, I devoutly hope the Pretenders will 
leave the Commonwealth (how absurd the word is !) 
to get over the difficulties of the winter ; they really 
will be too great for any one, so I had rather the 
odium of such misery fell on those who must go, if 
there is any retributive justice in the world. I was at 
the Assembly when the last letter of Prince Louis was 
read, and I don't think it made much sensation there, 
but in the groups outside there was a look of defiance 
in a few, and of disappointment in all. They still 
shouted * Vive Napoleon ! ' and many added " nous 
Taurons " to the popular air * Des Lampions.' 

The banquet of the 14th of July is a very serious 
danger ; in my humble opinion, concentrating an army 
on the spot where it is to take place is only rendering 
a colHsion inevitable. Trelat, the Minister of Public 
Works, is quite unfit for his position ; he does nothing 
for the National Workshops which are a nursery for 
rioters, and he squanders as much money as his col- 
leagues. I saw a deputy yesterday who is on the 
Comite des Finances ; he says bankruptcy may still 
be averted if the State limits its liabilities, and the plan 
proposed by the Minister Duclerc is to double them. 
The whole confiscation meditated will probably not be 
voted ; the railway companies will in that case struggle 



Juneigth.] WIDESPREAD ANXIETY. 195 

on, else I do not doubt that travelling in France will 
soon be as in the Middle Ages, on horseback only. 

I am getting so horribly out of spirits that I feel 
quite 111 ; the sad fate of many in whom I am deeply 
interested, the future of my nieces, the general gloom 
around me, all combine to make me miserable. I try 
to hope, and sometimes I do for a day or two, but 
then some unforeseen circumstance again turns the 
scale, and I foresee some lower depth of misery ; all 
my letters too seem to bring some sad intelligence. 
One of my earliest friends, settled near Posen, is 
obliged to arm her peasants, and defend her house 
and property against bands of ferocious marauders. 
A young man whose sister was my only companion 
when I was a child and who, since her death, has 
always looked up to me as an elder sister, is in the 
army of Marshal Nugent ; ^ he is the only son of a 
widow, and she writes most heart-rending accounts of 

^ Marshal Nugent, who was born in Westmeath in 1777, had long 
been in the Austrian service in which he held several important commands 5 
he was made Generalissimo of the Neapolitan army in 18 17 under the 
Bourbons, but lost his post at the revolution in 1820. He was sent by 
Austria in 1 848 to succour Radetzky in Lombardy, and was subsequently 
made Field-Marshal for his services in Hungary. Radetzky had lately 
suffered several defeats, as at Goito in April and at Santa Lucia in May ; 
but the arrival of reinforcements turned the scale, and he was victorious at 
Vicenza and subsequently at Custozza. 



196 PARIS IN '48. [June 22nd. 

that sad campaign. I have another friend in prison at 
Milan ; in fact, I do not see a calm spot or a happy 
circle to which I can turn for comfort. I do not like 
to say all I feel, because people do not understand me. 
When I say "I am anxious," I am asked "Are you 
afraid ? " and this, you know, is not my nature. I do 
not shrink from these scenes which cannot affect me 
personally, but I cannot bear to think that all or 
almost all I love are in such fearful perils. 

Pray forgive this stupid letter ; I will try to get 
up my spirits by next Thursday, but the stormy 
weather has given me a headache for the last three 
days. I do hope you will not be deterred from coming 
here ; there is not a particle of danger except to pro- 
perty or sometimes to National Guards ; you might 
fancy yourself at Versailles or any other place that 
once was great, instead of in a vast foyer of con- 
spiracies. 



XXXV. 

June 22nd. 

The dull calm of hopeless misery which has suc- 
ceeded the bustle of conspiracies and emeutes reminds 
me of the melancholy month of October last year, at 



June 22nd.] STATE MONOPOLIES. 197 

the time of my father's death, when the sad feeling of 
loneliness and uselessness succeeded weeks of care and 
anxiety. The altered prospects of my little nieces 
and the slight hope that can be entertained of all my 
sister's sacrifices ever turning to account, make me 
miserable ; I cannot bear to see the wholesale spolia- 
tion going on on all sides, nor do I see any precedent 
in history for the ruinous system now about to be 
adopted. The State is to be the only insurance 
agency, and insurances against fire and hail are to be 
made compulsory, thus adding to the already intoler- 
able burden of direct taxation ; the railway companies 
and those of the canals, mines, and gaslighting, are to 
be dissolved, and the monopoly to centre in a penniless 
Government without credit. The National Workshops 
are a standing army kept up by the Executive for the 
sole purpose of getting up emeutes for or against any 
measure favourable or hostile to it. 

The rassemblements are now at the Hotel de 
Ville, and the cries are : " Vive Henri V. ! Vive Na- 
poleon ! Vive le Prince de Joinville ! Vive quelqu'un, 
mais surtout a bas la Republique ! " A man who cried 
*Vive la Republique ! ' was with dif^culty saved from 
the exasperated mob. The state of the departments is 
even worse than Paris, and you will not wonder at 



198 PARIS IN '48. [June 22nd. 

it when I tell you that Madame Manuel's maid asked 
for her discharge last week saying that, as her husband 
had got a Prefecture, she could no longer remain in 
service. If you read the Debats^ I hope you did not 
overlook Caussidiere's speech in yesterday's paper ; it 
is not couched in very parliamentary language but it 
is energetic and true. I don't believe however that 
he will be President of the Republic, in spite of his 
talk ; perhaps we may have Cavaignac for a time, for 
human patience cannot stand Lamartine & Co. much 
longer. The National Guard is divided into many 
fractions, and is in such a desperate state of exaspera- 
tion that I shall never be surprised to hear that one of 
the legions has been marched to the Assembly, and has 
thrown the representatives out of the windows. 

Clement Thomas has renounced the command of 
the National Guard, because he looks upon the reten- 
tion of the Legion of Honour in the projected Consti- 
tution as a personal affront. I suppose Changarnier 
will be his successor as he is the man most obnoxious 
to the "Executive, and everything dependent on election 
is given against it. The outward tranquillity is in- 
credible : you might fancy yourself in a watering-place 
during the dull season were it not for the quantities of 
soldiers ; any one who left from fear must feel heartily 



June 25th.] STREET WARFARE. 199 

ashamed ; those who departed in search of amusement 
were quite right, for here it is entirely at an end. 



XXXVI.^ 

Sunday, June 25th, 6.30 a.m. 

The generak is beating, so I presume the awful 
warfare of the last two days is still continuing ; it is 

^ The same causes which had brought about the three previous out- 
breaks of this year contributed to the final insurrection of June 23rd 
described in the following letter, but the dominant revolutionary impulse 
came from the National Workshops. The Assembly had appointed a 
commission to consider the whole labour question, and its members, Lamar- 
tine, Arago, Ledru Rollin, Gamier Pages, and Marie determined that the 
workshops should be suppressed. The employes between the ages of eighteen 
and twenty-five were to be given the option of enlisting, or casting them- 
selves upon the labour market, or being drafted away into the provinces to 
work as navvies 5 the first gang was to be sent to the Sologne, a notoriously 
unhealthy district. A large proportion of them were skilled craftsmen, 
and quite unfit for heavy labour ; the growing discontent soon took the 
shape of threatening mobs and passionate harangues, in which one Pujol 
was conspicuous. On the morning of June 23rd between 7000 and 8000 
malcontents assembled at the Pantheon, and paraded on the site of the 
Bastille ; the construction of barricades — massive and almost impregnable 
— had begun by ten o'clock, and the movement spread rapidly throughout 
the city. The workmen had been drilled and organised on a quasi military 
system, and the siege of the streets occupied Cavaignac — to whom the 
Assembly left everything — for four days, during which 2529 wounded men 
were received at the hospitals and ambulance stations alone ; of these, one 
in fifteen of the soldiers and one in six of the insurgents succumbed. It 
was estimated that from 45,000 to 50,000 men took part in the rising, and 
that not less than 900 were killed and 2000 wounded among the regular 
troops. 



200 PARIS IN '48. [June 25th. 

worse than July 1830, June '32, February of this 
disastrous year, and even than the street massacres of 
1792 ! More French blood has been shed than for 
many of Napoleon's most brilliant victories ; to-day's 
papers have not yet arrived, but up to five o'clock last 
night we have reports of most fearful carnage. Of the 
National Guard twelve hundred are missing ; the 73rd 
Regiment of the Line has lost five hundred men and 
eleven officers, the Republican Guard eighteen hun- 
dred out of two thousand engaged, and the Mobile 
has been almost annihilated ; out of one detachment 
five hundred strong, only sixty have been saved ; two 
hundred fell at one discharge in the Place Lafayette. 
Our company was sent to defend the Northern railway, 
when a most disastrous fire was opened upon them 
from some unfinished houses ; these they attacked 
very bravely, but they found on forcing an entrance, 
that the staircase had been removed, and their ferocious 
adversaries were picking them oflF from the landings ; 
of course they were compelled to retreat. Nine shop- 
keepers were left on the pavement. My brother-in-law 
had his epaulets shot through by a bullet which killed 
a wine-merchant behind him ; he was out for twenty- 
five hours, and came home harassed, wet through, and 
utterly dispirited. 



June 25th.] STATE OF SIEGE DECLARED. 201 

It is evident there exists a vast plan of operation, 
and I am sure there was at least connivance on the part 
of the police, for the barricades begun at 3 a.m. were 
not finished until near ten o'clock, and not a soul inter- 
fered to prevent their completion. The want of union 
between the five governors rendered the orders uncer- 
tain and tardy, and when the National Guard were 
called out it was literally to a butchery which could 
hardly be avenged. No cry has been raised by the 
insurgents ; every one feels the Red Republic is at 
work, but it has not been asserted in so many words. 
These tactics are in some respects wise, for if the civic 
force could divest themselves of the fear of pillage and 
the scaffold, they would be much less resolute ; but 
on the other hand, if a name had been adopted or 
a Pretender put forward, the troops would not have 
fought. Cannonading has been heard incessantly for 
the last two days, and many houses are reported to be 
a heap of ruins ; the Pantheon was fortified by the 
mob who, having artillery and ammunition, held out 
for several hours ; the last news however is that it 
has capitulated, and that fifteen hundred men have laid 
down their arms. The Executive were obliged to resign 
yesterday morning, and to invest Cavaignac with the 
military dictatorship ; Paris is declared in a state of 



202 PARIS IN '48. [June 25th. 

siege, and every individual taken in arms is imme- 
diately shot. Mr. Blount walked to St. Denis at the 
peril of his life, got an engine, and by order of the 
Dictator proceeded to Amiens, from whence he brought 
back the garrison which furnished fresh troops for last 
night's defence. I feel confident that the cause of 
order will triumph, but at what cost ! And then how 
can one hope for stability, when one sees how short- 
lived popularity is in this miserable country ? Lamar- 
tine had one million five hundred thousand votes on 
the 20th of April, and on Friday he was hissed when- 
ever he appeared. I was at the Mairie of the first 
arrondissement, when the downfall of the Executive was 
proclaimed by George Lafayette and Gustave de Beau- 
mont, and I never heard such enthusiasm ; the troops 
of all denominations shouted their willingness to fight 
any one now they had no other chief than Cavaignac. 
I saw many wounded carried past, and the sight of 
blood gives a sort of reality to one's fears for those one 
loves, which is most painful ; many of our acquaint- 
ances have suffered considerably, and I am told five 
deputies were shot in attempting to harangue the de- 
fenders of the barricades. There may be exaggeration 
with respect to the numbers killed, but there is none 
with regard to the means in the hands of the people ; 



June 25th.] FEARFUL LOSS OF LIFE. 203 

they are armed, have twelve pieces of ordnance and 
more ammunition than the garrison. The distribution 
made to the National Guard was three cartridges a head 
and, if they had not all had private stores, they would 
have been for hours without the means of retaliating 
on the brigands to whom they were opposed. A 
cuirassier who had a bullet through his thigh and a 
cut on the head, told us that dead bodies were so 
numerous that the insurgents used them to fill up the 
breaches in their intrenchments. I saw a woman with 
a wound in the neck, a National Guard shot through 
the cheek, and some others going to the hospital. On 
Friday we saw a bayonet charge on the boulevards, 
which were afterwards occupied by the troops. Yester- 
day every street was patrolled, and no one allowed to 
pass unchallenged ; men were searched, and women 
too where they looked suspicious ; they were very 
civil to us, but we did not go very far. The Place 
Louis XV. was covered with troops and artillery, but 
there was no appearance of insurrection in that quarter. 
A., with a few of his men, took the place of the 
butchered in our quartier^ and I trust they have not 
been to the scene of action. 

You cannot imagine anything more fearful than 
the aspect of this once flourishing capital : not a shop 



204 PARIS IN '48. [June 25th. 

open ; not a creature in the streets except the patrols 
and a few anxious women looking about for their 
husbands and sons ; not a sound except the distant 
growl of artillery, the ring of musketry, the measured 
tramp of troops and, worse than all, the incessant beat 
of the generale which means " Extreme peril ; turn out, 
every one." This has been going on for two hours, 
and the men are not turning out in sufficient numbers 
to be of use : some are dead, others dying, and their 
brothers remain with them ; many though unhurt are 
quite incapable of action after such severe fatigue. 
Consternation is general, and I fear even we shall soon 
come to some plan of departure ; I would much rather 
stay, but if matters get worse it may be difficult to move. 
1 1 a.m. — I have been out, and have seen the whole 
battalion march off to the scene of action ; they are 
determined to conquer or die, and to-day they have 
hand grenades and ohuses from which we may expect 
a good deal. The houses occupied by the mob are 
filled with ammunition, and must be demolished by 
cannon ; my brother-in-law has gone, and there is 
scarcely a man left in the quartier ; I met an acquaint- 
ance whose cousin was killed last night. Out of three 
battalions of Mobile engaged in the Rue St. Jacques, 
numbering 3600, only 800 remain. The Northern 



Jime2Sth.] POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS. 205 

railway is in the hands of the insurgents, and probably 
the post will not go out ; I sent the newspapers on the 
bare chance, and this I will endeavour to send by 
private hand. The war is not over but I think the 
result is sure ; force will carry the day and prevail for 
a time, and then we shall have * la revanche du peuple ' 
and the Reign of Terror. If we can prevail upon my 
sister to go to the seaside, we shall take advantage of 
the lull and cross to England, but it would be cruelty 
to leave her as she is now situated ; imagine the fearful 
nights of suspense, with no positive intelligence and 
surrounded by the sounds of battle 1 She ran over 
to see us last night at twelve o'clock, because a shot 
went off in the street while the generale was beating 
in the Place Beauvau. On account of her children she 
cannot always be with us, and when she is quiet and 
alone her anxiety is more than she can bear ; besides 
her husband's personal danger, she has all the sad 
anticipations for the future of her country and her 
children ; I assure you it is heartbreaking. I am going 
to take her out ; she is calmer when going about and 
I hope we may be cheered by some good news ; there 
is no danger nearer than Montmartre. Will this 
massacre put^ an end to Communism ,'' if so, no one 
will complain ; but how sad it all is ! 



206 PARIS IN '48. [June 26th. 



XXXVII. 

June 26th, 5 p.m. 

I could not write this morning ; it was too painful 
to retrace the horrors of the situation without being 
able to give some hope that it would soon change ; 
now we trust that the insurrection is mastered, though 
there is still some skirmishing on the Canal St. Martin. 
I must go back to yesterday to give you an idea of 
the awful hours we have spent since I concluded my 
letter. I went to see a deputy who lives near here, 
and heard from him that the insurgents mustered 
45,000 men, that they had ammunition for a fortnight 
and were masters of the whole town from the Barriere 
Rochechouart to the Barriere de Fontainebleau. The 
loss among the troops, Mobile and National Guard, 
amounted yesterday at twelve o'clock to 8000 men ! 
There have been many fierce engagements since, and 
this morning a barricade made a feigned surrender, 
and then fired a volley on the unsuspecting friends of 
order who lost 161 men and 4 officers by that one 
discharge. The exasperation of the troops then 
became so fearful that every soul taken was immediately 
slaughtered ; I am told that part of the Faubourg St. 
Antoine was deluged with blood which poured down 



June 26th.] SMUGGLING WEAPONS. 207 

the streets and flowed into the shops. Soult says that 
Austerlitz was less terrible, and that the siege of Sara- 
gossa was nothing like these four days. The state of 
siege proclaimed yesterday was most vigorously en- 
forced ; even on the way across to my sister I was 
searched, or at least questioned ; this last precaution 
had become absolutely necessary, since cartridges had 
been conveyed by women pretending to be in an 
interesting condition ; others hid them in loaves of 
bread, and even coffins were used to keep up the 
murderous warfare. 

7.30 p.m. — I saw a woman arrested who had pistols 
in the pockets of her gown and a sword acting as a 
dress-improver. Every sort of atrocity has been com- 
mitted : the dead have been horribly mutilated ; the 
bullets extracted from the wounded are mixed with 
verdigris or softened, which is supposed to produce 
incurable sores. Boiling water, vitriol, and paving- 
stones have been thrown from the windows ; the very 
cellars were filled with ruffians who picked out the 
officers as they marched to the barricades ; some of 
these were composed of sheet iron from a foundry they 
pillaged, and cannon-balls ricochetted from off them 
killed those who were firing the guns ; some of the 
bullets bear marks of having been made by ferocious 



2o8 PARIS IN '48. [June 26th. 

amateurs, and I saw one that had been cast in a 
woman's thimble.^ 

Nothing could exceed the desolation of the town 
yesterday. The boulevards were cut off, and looked 
deserted ; the streets were paraded by sentries who 
enforced the strictest discipline ; no one was allowed 
to stand about, and no sound was heard but the tramp 
of cavalry or the distant roll of cannon or musketry. 
Bad reports poured in from hour to hour, and it 
became evident that there was treachery to contend 
with, besides all the other horrors of civil war. The 
National Guards who patrolled the streets ordered all 
blinds to be left open and all windows to be kept shut, 
to prevent any firing from above ; at night every street 
was paraded by troops who kept up the incessant cry : 
" Sentinelle, prenez-garde a vous ! " The list of 
those required to serve was verified everywhere, and 

1 Expert evidence obtained from the Surgeon-General of the National 
Guard, Mens, de Guise, goes to prove that the severity of the wounds was 
due partly to the firing being at very close quarters, and very frequently 
obliquely, from above j also to the miscellaneous nature of the projectiles, 
in which needles and anything that came to hand were used. New varieties 
of shot had also been cast for the Army at Vincennes, and there had been 
no previous experience of the wounds which they produced. A calm 
historical investigation i? also happily, unable to endorse the horrible reports 
of poisoned bandages being used, and of drugged drinks being administered. 
Out of twenty-five individuals accused of atrocious crimes only four were 
found guilty. 



June 26th.] THE STRUGGLE. 209 

the few men who had not gone out at first were forced 
to join ; all this quiet quarter was occupied solely by- 
women and children making lint and bandages for the 
wounded, all gloomily anticipating that their pre- 
parations might be for their husbands or fathers. 

1 cannot describe the scene nor give you an idea 
of the weary hours we spent, looking, watching, 
listening to every rumour and unable to get at any 
positive information. At ten we heard that the Fau- 
bourg St. Antoine was to be bombarded ; at eleven that 
it had surrendered ; at twelve that the surrender was 
a feint, and that the battle was fiercer than ever. Some- 
times a weary private or Mobile brought word that the 
battalion was safe, at least when he left ; but others 
said : "The fusillade is beginning again." I was lent 
a pass, and got as far as the Place Louis XV. with 
immense difficulty ; cuirassiers with loaded pistols 
examined the paper most minutely ; I felt sure they 
could not read, and was glad of it as it was not in 
my name. The Place still wore the aspect of a town 
besieged, with its cannon trained on the outlets and 
men and horses lying about in the wild confusion of 
a bivouac ; everywhere else the stillness of death, the 
look of the petrified city in the Arabian Nights : 
I shall always remember it. At three o'clock we heard 

p 



2IO PARIS IN '48. [June 26th. 

that everything was calming down, that some had sur- 
rendered, while others had been driven out of the 
town into the plain where it would be easy to get the 
better of them. Cavaignac had just sent word to the 
Assembly that he would be able to give up this evening 
the supreme power with which he had been invested. 
A bad feature is the attempt that is being made to 
fasten the odium of this horrible carnage on the party 
of reaction, instead of the adherents of Communism 
and the Red Republic ; the deceit augurs ill for the 
future. The strategic plan to which ultimate success 
was owing is attributed to Thiers, who has great 
influence with Lamoriciere. From four to five o'clock 
numbers of our company came pouring in, but A. did 
did not arrive till half-past six, and so dead lame that 
we are afraid he has received some injury. His first 
words to me were " I am not wounded ; " but fatigue 
that can reduce him to his present state must be nearly 
as bad as blows : he has been out since Friday morn- 
ing and only remained three hours in bed on Saturday 
afternoon, which is the only rest he has had for four 
days and three nights. General Negrier was killed 
close to him ; the man next him was wounded, the 
chef de hata'illon killed, and it was that portion of 
the I St Legion that cleared the whole of the Faubourg 



June 26th.] INSURRECTION ARRESTED. 211 

du Temple. For many hours the miners were at 
work to blow up the whole quartier^ and women were 
handing their babies over the barricades, imploring the 
National Guards to have mercy on them and not 
sacrifice their lives ; many of the insurgents taken in 
arms were instantly shot, and died as they had lived, 
perfectly fearless and reckless ; those that were saved 
from the exasperation of the victors were taken to the 
Tuileries, stripped, and placed in the cellars naked, as 
that is the only security against escape. The brandy 
carried by the cantini^res was in many cases drugged, 
and many of the troops suffered severely from this 
atrocious piece of wickedness. I believe if the out- 
break had been successful even for an hour, or gained 
one step beyond the point where it was first allowed 
to gather, the cause of order would have been lost ; 
but the failure at the first onset prevented the insur- 
rection from spreading, and the heroic conduct of the 
Garde Mobile, in whom all the spirit of the * gamin 
de Paris ' was brought to bear against murder and 
rapine, saved the country ; at least for the present, for 
who can calculate in the presence of such events } 

We shall never know the amount of the slaughter, 
for the rebels have carried off their dead and thrown 
them into the river, or buried them in heaps ; the 



212 PARIS IN '48. [June 26th. 

sewer of the Faubourg St. Antoine was for hours 
one continued stream of human blood. The immense 
removal vans that you know were piled with the 
wounded, and drove to the hospitals in strings of eight 
or ten at a time ; it reminds one of the St. Bar- 
tholomew, if you can imagine that fearful massacre 
lasting four days and three nights. 

The signature of Mons. Lalanne was found on the 
papers of many of the dead, so it is presumed that 
the Direction of the National Workshops, and per- 
haps the Executive, are at the bottom of this hideous 
conspiracy.^ Some say Lamartine and Ledru RoUin are 
to be impeached, others pretend they will only be forced 
to give an account of the vast sums that have gone 
through their hands during the last four months. We 
shall see, but though I feel all are guilty, I am sure 
we shall be kept in the dark and a false direction 
will be given to the suspicion of the masses. Liberty 
of the press is at an end : the AssembUe Nationale has 
been seized to my very great sorrow ; so has the 
Presse and, I believe, the Patrie. If this vigour is 
not extended to the Vraie Republique^ the Commune de 

1 Lalanne was a scientific theorist, and by profession an engineer. In 
'48 he was called upon to take charge of the National Workshops in succes- 
sion to Emile Thomas, and in June the Commission of Enquiry passed a 
resolution recognising his courage in the discharge of that office. 



June 29th.] TROOPS GAIN CONTROL. 213 

PariSy and the Democratie Pacifique^ we may prepare 
for more bloodshed, for the star of the Red Republic 
will be in the ascendant, and as long as there is a 
bourgeois or a gentleman alive its advent is impossible. 
I have talked to the lowest workmen and the few 
remaining members of the old aristocracy, and all say : 
" Nous mourrons pour la famille et la propriete." 

Troops are still pouring in from the neighbour- 
hood, and probably they will arrive here from the 
extremities of the country, for it is here the battle 
must be fought and won or the existence of France 
will be at an end ; she would then be a prey to any 
ambitious neighbour, but after this victory we may 
fairly hope. All the troops are beating the ' Chant du 
triomphe ' on their drums, and those families who are 
au complet are indeed happy ; but how many are search- 
ing for those they love best among the heaps of slain ! 
It is horrible to think of. 



XXXVIII. 

June 29th. 

I visited the scene of action yesterday, and cannot 
imagine how any one escaped the butchery committed 
there, and destruction from the fallen houses. There 



214 PARIS IN '48. [June 29th. 

is not one pane of glass left whole from the Boulevard 
de St. Martin to the Bastille ; indeed, in many houses 
you can scarcely distinguish where the windows have 
been, they are so confounded with the breaches made 
by cannon-balls. Near the column of July, where the 
most violent cannonade took place, the fronts of the 
houses are as it were taken off; I can only compare 
it to a stage decoration in which you see the interior 
of a house from top to bottom. One of them, more 
completely destroyed than the others and which was 
still smouldering, had no part standing but the wall 
on which the looking-glass remained unbroken over 
the chimney-piece, together with a glass bottle and 
three prints ; a little hearth-brush hung by the fire- 
place, and smoothing-irons were on a little shelf; 
everything else, doors, windows, floors, staircases and 
ceilings had fallen into the burning gulf below, and 
no one knew or seemed to care whether the inhabitants 
had shared the same fate. Traces of blood were still 
visible everywhere, though they had evidently been 
washed ; the whole boulevard was a bivouac where 
men and horses slept in picturesque confusion, the 
lances with their little flags forming trophies in the 
centre of the encampments. Some regiments were 
cooking, others grooming their horses, others keeping 



June 29th.] UNIVERSAL HAVOC. 215 

off the crowd, which they did with a degree of gentle- 
ness and civility I should not have expected from men 
so harassed by the severe duty. Everywhere sub- 
scriptions were opened for the wounded, and whenever 
the Garde Mobile, *les braves enfants de Paris,' held 
the box, money was given with enthusiasm ; their loss 
has been fearful, but they saved the country and 
every one allows them the first place in the gratitude 
which has been voted to all the combatants of June. 

The Rue St. Antoine up which I went after 
leaving the Bastille, contained seventy-five barricades, 
all constructed of stones and built with consummate 
art, so as to enfilade the cross streets, thus bringing 
eight fires to bear upon those who attacked them. 
The expression * crible de balles ' has become literally 
true : hardly an inch of wall is free from shot ; iron 
bars are torn from sockets ; shutters, persiennes^ and 
balconies are literally battered in, or hang by one hinge 
swinging against the ruins. In some places muslin 
curtains are hanging in ribbons from the top of shape- 
less openings that were windows three days ago ; in 
others the furniture has been piled up for defence, 
and chairs and sofas, burnt and battered, form a 
singular barricade on the first floor, vieing in disorder 
with that of the pavement. From all these windows 



2l6 PARIS IN '48. [June 29th. 

unconcerned faces are seen looking out at the in- 
quisitive crowd ; the shops are open and one that I 
saw, full of crockery, presented a strange contrast to 
the surrounding debris. There was no sign of sorrow 
among the inhabitants of these fearful ruins, nor any 
emotion among the onlookers ; it was a spectacle 
more saisissant than usually falls to one's lot, but 
nothing more. Street orators explained how the 
cannon-balls had ploughed up the corners, how the 
bullets of the insurgents had decimated the heroic 
Mobiles, how one had died, how other's had bled ; 
they showed the traces of the murderous assaults, 
and all stood there open-mouthed, astonished, but 
unmoved. From this wretched quarter we went by 
St. Gervais, which offers nearly the same aspect, to 
the Cite, where I think there can have been only a 
slight cannonade, as there are no houses absolutely 
destroyed ; the Pantheon is greatly injured, every 
column mutilated, and the doors burnt and beaten 
in. The first ball demolished the statue of the Re- 
public, the second, that of Immortality ; the supersti- 
tious cannot fail to ^ make the connection, and indeed 
it is in every heart and mind, that the newborn 
Republic has been drowned in the blood of its 
citizens. 



June 29th.] COUNTRY CONTINGENTS. 217 

The conduct of every one has been beyond all 
praise. I am happy to say the battalion to which 
A. belongs, the 4th of the ist Legion, has been 
honourably mentioned ; it fought for thirty-six hours 
without support, and Lamoriciere said that the ist 
Legion was worth an army. The loss has been great, 
but the spirit of the population has gathered new 
strength ; they feel their value, they know their power, 
and I trust the cause of the Red Republic is lost for 
ever ; all France has joined against it. The National 
Guards, citizens, and peasants from the remotest parts 
of the country have come pouring in ; Cherbourg sent 
a splendid contingent ; Bordeaux with its artillery is 
coming by sea to Havre ; Dijon arrived on Sunday ; 
Amiens, thanks to the Northern railway, came in 
time to fight and was most useful. As to the 
Mobiles, they are like the best troops of any army 
and always claimed to go to the front. One of the 
men of the 4th Battalion of National Guards, think- 
ing his troop was not sufficiently exposed, joined the 
Mobile to take part in the assault, then came back 
to his own ranks, fought again, and so on the whole 
day ; his coat, his trousers, his forage cap were full 
of holes, but he escaped unhurt ; if any rewards are 
given I hope this young civilian may get the cross. 



21 8 PARIS IN '48. [June 29th. 

A.'s company was engaged in the Clos St. Lazare 
and in the Faubourg St. Antoine ; they got over all 
the barricades and arrived, bayonet in hand, at the 
Barriere du Trone, through cross fires besides the 
volley in front ; he was the only officer who got so 
far, and they all worship him. You cannot imagine 
how satisfactory it is to see the consideration felt for 
him in the quartier^ and the look of praise bestowed 
by all on the broken epaulet of our lieutenant. I 
am afraid they will insist on making him chef de 
bataillon, a post of tremendous responsibility, and 
also dangerous. One of our men has been severely 
wounded, and another, the workman Bernard, has 
resigned because his father and brothers were behind 
the first barricade he stormed ; he tried to get killed, 
but all seemed to spare him. I dislike the man who 
is a leveller and a Communist, but I cannot help 
pitying him, for the position must have been terrible 
with such conflicting duties and all his natural feelings 
so miserably engaged on the side of the enemy. 

We are now safe from any great insurrection, but 
isolated murders are going on at a great rate, and 
sentinels are picked off at night in spite of the in- 
cessant cry, *' Sentinelle, prenez-garde a vous ! " So 
many soldiers have been poisoned by pretended 



June 29th.] RUMOURED ATROCITIES. 219 

vivandiereSj that the strictest orders are given to drink 
nothing that has not been tasted by the vendor. A 
woman who had offered her services at an ambulance 
was taken up for bandaging the wounds with poisoned 
lint ; in fact, every kind of atrocity has been com- 
mitted and may still be expected. I have no patience 
with the Assembly which talks of mercy to the mis- 
guided, and indulgence to the vanquished : why move 
us to compassion about their wives and children when 
they have made so many widows and orphans ? Why 
talk of political excitement as an excusable feeling, 
when its fruits have been the foulest murders ? 

The papers will give you details which will remind 
you of Cooper's Red Indians, and not of this nation 
with its high pretensions to civilisation. The new 
Government is an improvement on the last, but it 
is not good ; Senard is not to be trusted, and Recurt , 
is not the man to be at the head of the important 
department of Public Works ; Leblanc too is obscure 
and not safe ; Cavaignac is honest and intrepid, 
but shortsighted and too Republican to consolidate 
anything ; Lamorici^re and Changarnier are excellent 
appointments, and I have nothing to say against 
Goudchaux. If Dufaure is named President, the 
Reaction will have made a giant stride in that quarter ; 



220 PARIS IN '48. [Julysrd. 

we shall probably have a few good measures and a 
month's tranquillity ; I do not expect more, but I 
feel confident that any outbreak will now be crushed 
in the beginning, and not fostered as this has been by 
four months of treachery. Upwards of fifty thousand 
Government muskets have been recovered besides 
others, and twelve pieces of ordnance ; as to cartridges, 
they are seized by tens of thousands, which proves 
that the laws about arms and ammunition have not 
been enforced for ages ; indeed, I feel sure that some 
blame must attach to the old police, as these depots of 
war material and the subterranean passages in the 
insurgent quarters could hardly have been all com- 
pleted in four months. Heaps of prisoners are shut 
up everywhere ; in the old church of I'Assomption 
the door has been bricked up, and they are fed through 
a guichet. 

XXXIX. 

July 3rd. 

Nothing has actually happened since I last wrote, 
but much light has been thrown upon the origin of 
the late events and, if the inquiry is properly 
conducted, I have no doubt Lamartine and Ledru 
RoUin will join Barbes at Vincennes before the end 



July 3rd.] APPARENT COLLUSION. 221 

of the week. The poet himself shares this convic- 
tion, but he says that in two months he will return 
to the summit of popularity, and resume the 
Presidency of the French Republic ; I doubt it, as 
the actual complicity is now as evident as the moral 
complicity has long been. Captain Juteau of the 
Garde Mobile, has sent a letter to the Committee of 
Inquiry now sitting at the Assembly, in which he 
certifies that at the first barricade he made prisoners 
of some of the ci-devant Montagnards, and sent 
them under escort to the Prefecture de Police ; a 
receipt was given, and he went on his way fully 
persuaded that he had diminished the number of 
those adversaries so dangerous from their organisa- 
tion and military knowledge, but his surprise was 
unbounded when he recognised the same men 
fighting on the next entrenchment. He thought the 
Prefecture had been taken and a rescue effected, but 
upon reaching the Rue de Jerusalem he found all 
very peaceable, and was told that orders had been 
given to *relacher tous les prisonniers.' The repre- 
sentative who carried this letter to the Tribune 
certifies the truth of It, and many other anecdotes 
are current which strengthen the impression that the 
authorities were In league with the Red Republic. 



222 PARIS IN '48. [July 3rd. 

The Colonel of the ist Legion told me that on 
Saturday 24th, when he commanded at the Tuileries, 
a man was brought before him whose appearance 
did not justify the possession of a sum of 5000 fr. 
which he was carrying ; on being interrogated, he 
showed a pass signed " Leon Lalanne, Chef des 
Ateliers Nationaux," and proved that he was sent 
"pour faire la paix des ouvriers combattant aux 
barricades." Lalanne, who is nearly related to Trelat 
ex-Minister of Public Works, says that feeling sure 
the workmen were driven to arms by want, he had 
sent them 100,000 fr. a day "pour les adoucir." 
These two circumstances I know to be true, and 
others, though not related to myself, appear to me 
equally well authenticated. 

On Saturday, while the fusillade was hottest in 
the quarder of the H6tel de Ville, Armand de 
Maille who was on guard at the Assembly, threw 
off his coat and lay down on the ground in the 
drill trousers common to all, and in his shirt 
sleeves like a workman. A man came out of the 
Chamber, rapped him on the shoulder and said : 
" Courez a I'Hotel de Ville, voyez si les ouvriers 
en sont maitres, et si vous m'apportez une bonne 
nouvelle, eh bien ! mon ami, il y aura mille francs 



July 3rd.] YOUNG HEROES. 223 

pour vous ! " The man was Flocon, the same who 
said : " L'or de I'etranger soudoie nos fr^res egares." 
Every day one hears new traits of the bravery of 
the young Garde Mobile, and I think it is one of 
the compliments most flattering to A. that they 
proposed yesterday to make him a Captain if he 
would join them. Etienne de Beauvais, A. de 
Polignac, and some others joined these young 
heroes, and went on a most daring expedition 
through the narrow streets of the City, entering 
houses, disarming the defenders, seizing arms, etc. 
They say that the conduct of the little fellows was 
beyond all praise ; some jumped headlong down 
into dark cellars and dragged out adversaries twice 
their size and strength ; others were let down by 
ropes from windows, and the greater the danger 
the greater the number of volunteers. Young 
Beauvais has been hit in the leg, but he is more 
ashamed of his temerity than proud of his courage, 
and he will not allow it to be mentioned. A 
young Mobile whom our footman knew, found 
himself and two comrades in the midst of fifteen 
insurgents, at the top of a house which they were 
searching. It was resolved by the rioters to throw 
the rash boys out of the window, but one gamin 



224 PARIS IN '48. [July 3rd. 

of seventeen said he would not go alone, and, 
seizing the man who held him with all his might, 
overbalanced him with such good luck as to fall 
upon him and break his own fall ; unfortunately 
he was shot at from the window, and now lies at 
the Charite with two bullets in his body, but full 
of hope and quite cheerful, since he succeeded in 
killing his enemy. 

At the hospitals, sentinels are necessary at every 
door to prevent the ferocious insurgents getting out 
of their beds to crow over the wounded of the 
other party ; they shriek : " Nous voulons manger 
du Garde National, nous Farroserons du sang du 
Mobile ! " Their language is full of horrible 
threats ; they do not regret the past, but on the 
contrary declare that next time they will burn Paris 
and perish in its ruins. The newspapers are trying 
to minimise the number of deaths and, in particular, 
to deny the horrible crimes imputed to the insurrec- 
tion ; but the first reports were correct, and there is 
no exaggeration in the account of the savage 
cruelties practised by the escaped convicts. Gonzague 
de St. Genies found a friend of his, an officer in 
the army, hanged at the Pantheon ; and the body 
of Mons. de Mangin murdered at the Barri^re de 



July 3rd.] DISAFFECTED DEPUTIES. 225 

Fontainebleau, is so mutilated that no one could 
recognise him/ 

Treachery was everywhere, among petty local 
authorities about Paris as well as in the depart- 
ments ruled by Ledru RoUin's commissaries. Mons. 
Jazard, Prefet of the AUier, attempted to dissuade 
the National Guards from starting for Paris by 
saying : " Mes amis, vous arriverez trop tard pour 
le pillage ! " and Changarnier who had an interview 
with him on his way back from Africa, says his 
place should have been at the head of the riot, 
not in any branch of the Administration ; if he 
held such language after the victory of order, you 
may imagine what his real sentiments were ! The 
same sympathy for the Red Republic was shown 
by the Sous-Pr6fet of Auxerre, the Pr6fet of Caen, 
and many others, all sent by the late Executive 
Commission to disorganise the provinces. The 
authorities here are equally dangerous ; the Mayor 
of our arrondissement congratulated the National 
Guard of the Nievre on having come too late, 
saying : " Vous au moins, vous n'avez pas eu le 

1 De Mangin was Captain on the Staff in the action at the barricades 
on June 25th ; he fell a victim to his loyal support of General Brea who 
insisted on going in behind the Barriere de Fontainebleau to harangue the 
insurgents, and was traitorously shot down by them. 

Q 



226 PARIS IN *48. [July 3rd. 

malheur de tirer sur vos freres," — this in the 
presence of the ist Legion which has suffered so 
cruelly in the defence of order. The Presidency 
of Marie is not thought well of as, though he was 
the best of the late Government, still, as he did 
not separate himself from them, he must have 
tacitly connived at their measures.-^ Carnot will 
retire very soon under the contempt of the As- 
sembly ; Recurt ought to be removed, but as the 
National Workshops are at an end, he will not 
have materials for much mischief. Cavaignac has 
only accepted the Dictatorship on condition of break- 
ing up the associations of workmen, and having a 
camp of thirty thousand men- in the Plaine de 
Grenoble, and another equally numerous at Satory, 
above Versailles : with such precautions it is difficult 
to conceive any serious outbreak, but it is quite 
certain there will be a great deal of skirmishing. One 
hundred thousand muskets have been restored to 
Vincennes, as well as the cannon of the insurgents ; 

1 Marie had so far separated himself from the Government as to vote 
for the prosecution of Blanc and Caussidiere, who fled to England. In 
spite of this prosecution, Blanc's economic scheme was adopted after the 
restoration of order ; fifty-six co-operative associations were started with a 
credit of 3 million francs ; of these only twenty-six remained in 1852, and 
nine in 1858. 



Julysid.] DE GIRARDIN IMPRISONED. 227 

ammunition too has been seized in vast quantities ; 
but unfortunately, they have learnt to make gun- 
cotton which does not heat or soil the guns so 
much as common powder, and thus a smaller number 
of guns can do equal execution ; besides, the troops 
get very much discouraged by noiseless discharges, 
and seeing their comrades fall without knowing where 
to look for their murderers. 

The measures taken with respect to Emile de 
Girardin are most arbitrary and unjust ; he is accused 
of having conspired, some say in favour of the 
Regency, others for the Due de Leuchtenberg.^ 
There is a rumour of a Russian pension which, 
if true, would tell sorely against him, and might 
lead to his being included in the penal colony 
intended for the Marquisate Islands ; I trust it 
is not so, for he is clever and brave though 
thoroughly unprincipled and quite capable of a 
double-faced conspiracy : however, we cannot but 
feel leniently towards one who attempted to subvert 
the late Government, and still hope he may be 
speedily released. Raspail, who was arrested in May, 
is surrounded with comforts and luxuries, visited 

1 The Due de Leuchtenberg was the eldest son of Prince Eugene de 
Beauharnais, and was the first husband of Marie II. of Portugal. 



228 PARIS IN '48. [July 13th. 

by his friends, etc. ; and Courtais is daily let out 
on parole. Why make this distinction between the 
Anarchists of May and the Reactionaries of June } 
That may be accounted for by the state of siege, 
but only fancy talking with exultation of a tran- 
quillity insured by keeping every one at home after 
nine in the evening, and making us all illuminate 
to prevent assassination ! Poor Paris ! poor France ! — 
one cannot bear to look back. How changed you 
will find everything, if our late disasters do not keep 
you away altogether ! 



XL. 

July 13th. 

I am afraid you must be ill, for I have not 
heard from you for a very long time, and I know 
you are always most exact in answering me, even 
when we are enjoying peace and quiet, and much 
more so when we are in the midst of dangers ; 
pray let me hear from you soon, everything is so 
black around us that we require a little cheering 
from abroad. You know that I am not prone to 
believe every horrible tale that is told, nor to be 
alarmed at shadows, and yet I do not like the 



July 13th.] ORGANISED DEFENCE. 229 

aspect of affairs. I am certain there Is some vast 
conspiracy on foot, whether already known and check- 
mated, or likely to break out to-morrow I cannot 
say, but the precautions taken are almost absurd 
from their minuteness. Every battalion of National 
Guard has orders to furnish a movable column of 
three hundred men as a forlorn hope, In case of 
fire ; many houses are marked to be loopholed and 
defended by the troops ; the engineers have come 
from Arras to open communications between houses, 
so as to attack the barricades under cover, and 
60,000 men of the regular army are ready to turn 
out at a moment's notice. It Is said that the plan 
of the Insurgents Is to come down from every 
barrier throwing bombs before them, particularly In 
this arrondlssement and, while some of the houses 
are burning, to pillage those which the inhabitants 
will abandon in the first moment of alarm. I 
doubt all this very much, for fire will not follow 
a beaten track nor burn the rich only, and surely 
those wretches, though they are scarcely human, 
will hardly burn out their families who are so 
mixed up with private houses in every quarter. 
It is certainly what it professes to be, * une guerre 
infernale ; ' a mine was discovered yesterday under 



230 PARIS IN '48. [July 13th. 

the Poissoniere barracks, and others are suspected, 
so the strictest watch is kept. A Captain in the 
Mobile stopped us yesterday in the street, and 
offered us his room in the barracks should the 
fighting come down here ; he says he can answer 
for his men, but I think it would be taking refuge 
in the lion's mouth, as the Mobile are more hated 
than the Municipal Guard. 

The object of to-morrow's rising, if it is not 
pillage, must be the deliverance of the fourteen 
thousand prisoners taken during the late events, 
and I think it would be wise to declare that the 
first shot fired should be the death signal of the 
whole of them ; anything would be better than let- 
ting out these ruffians, who have deserved any 
punishment for their unheard of cruelty : even the 
Irish felon might take lessons in atrocity from the 
monsters now lying in the forts. We have one 
guarantee of order — Military Government ; as long 
as the state of siege is maintained, we shall do, 
but I dread the possibility of its being removed. 
Cavaignac, Lamoriciere, and Changarnier are to be 
trusted but Charras, Under Secretary for War, is 
a rascal ; it is to his treachery we owe the useless 
exposure of the National Guard during the first 



Julyisth.] CHARRAS' DISLOYALTY. 231 

day of the fighting ; he had orders to have thirty 
thousand men in Paris, but had only ten and 
excuses himself by saying he forgot to transmit 
the order to the Colonels in the neighbourhood. 
Lamoriciere does not dare send him away because 
he belongs to the all-powerful dynasty of the 
National^ and he is afraid of causing a cry of 
reaction to be raised against him. 

Fourteen newspapers have been suppressed, and 
I feel sure we shall soon reach the same degree of 
liberty of the press as was once allowed at Vienna ; 
we shall have a censored Moniteur and not be 
allowed to comment upon it ; of course I don't 
care, but it will be a strange achievement of sixty 
years of revolution. I believe there is going to 
be a great distribution of crosses, and Mons. de 
Niewerkerque is to have one for his great bravery ; 
the . Due de Guiche, too, has been greatly praised, 
and his special report as an engineer officer has 
been so appreciated that he is one of the three 
engaged in planning the defence of the arrondisse- 
ment. 

What a pleasant state of things ! And, if we live to 
be old, how surprised we shall be to remember that we 
went on as usual when we felt that every paving-stone 



232 PARIS IN '48. [July 17th. 

was an offensive weapon, every drain the probable 
mouth of a. mine, and every man in a blouse a 
murderer ! No shutters are allowed to be closed, and 
sometimes open windows are threatened for fear of an 
ambuscade ; every person one meets gives one some 
advice or some warning, but we are getting used to it, 
and if there is any impatience expressed it is at the 
minuteness of the precautions taken, not at the 
continuance of peril. It is an extraordinary country ; 
there is certainly more courage among the men, more 
sang froid among the women than anywhere else : I 
doubted this in February, but it is impossible not to 
allow that in June all did their duty during the battle, 
and none exulted after the victory ; it was very 
dreadful but very fine in some respects, and it has 
restored my esteem for a nation which I cannot help 
loving still. 

XLI. 

July 17th. 

You do not say whether you still contemplate 
coming through France, so I am uncertain whether I 
have any chance of seeing you before your departure 
for the East ; I am afraid the state of the Continent 
will deter you from taking this route, and yet I am 



Juiyi7th.] SUBVERSIVE DOCTRINES. 233 

convinced it is perfectly safe. A friend of mine arrived 
yesterday from Marseille and, though she travelled 
alone with her maid, did not meet with the slightest 
molestation or difficulty ; the only danger is at Paris 
and, with the state of siege, you see how easily the 
most extensive plans are frustrated. 

The most timorous say we have two months before 
us, the most sanguine think the war will now be only 
a conflict of ideas. Proudhon and Pierre Leroux, the 
apostle of Socialism, have quite failed in the Assembly ; 
the latter delivered a sentimental elegy upon the insur- 
rection which was not even listened to, and the former 
was forced by Mons. Thiers to give an explanation of 
his principles, which has cost him dear. I do not 
stand up for the religion of France, which has been 
found wanting on many points and is too often dis- 
regarded, but such wholesale blasphemy never could 
be t^^erated, and since the ' People's Representative ' 
has said : " La propri6t6 durera autant que le Christian- 
isme," the general impression was that his theories need 
not be discussed. We are far from the days of 
Voltaire, almost as far morally speaking as from those 
of St. Louis, and these doctrines excite as violent a 
reprobation as if a motion were made to re-establish 
the Inquisition, or to excommunicate Lamartine. 



234 PARIS IN '48. [July 17th. 

Mons. Thiers made an admirable speech in favour 
of their property being restored to the Orleans family, 
and he has annihilated Jules Favre's proposal of 
confiscation ; Berryer, too, spoke forcibly in the same 
sense and the question, coming after the great struggle 
for the rights of property, is most likely to be setded 
favourably, though not quite fairly. Every one 
admits that the debts of the Civil List must be paid, 
and these will be swelled to the utmost to cover some 
of the prodigalities of the Provisional and Executive 
Governments. In the stable department this will be 
very serious, and all the va-nu-pieds of the 24th of 
February have been revelling in the court equipages 
ever since. However, it is calculated that upwards of 
one hundred million francs will be restored to the 
exiles, and this is more serious when you consider that 
one million well distributed will upset any Govern- 
ment. The refuse of the hulks, the scum of the Paris 
population can any day change the fate of the whole 
Nation — at least they could^ for I trust the severe 
lessons of the last five months will profit the Army 
and the National Guard. I hope that the soldiers will 
never fraternise with the mob, and that the civic force 
will never again blindly adopt a mob cry. On the 
24th of February * Vive la R^publique ! ' gave us the 



Julyi7th.] VARIED RALLYING CRIES. 235 

Republic ; on the 5th of May ' Poland ' smashed 
Barb^s, and had Louis Napoleon come forward his 
name would have insured the Red Republic. Every- 
one thinks the next convulsion will restore Monarchy, 
but all these Africans are so compromised with the 
Republic, that they will maintain order in their own 
interests.^ Cavaignac is a Republican * de la vieille 
roche,' Changarnier a decided Orleanist, and Lamori- 
ci^re is supposed to be a Legitimist ; they all dread 
one another, and to maintain the balance of power 
they must uphold the Republic. No one now can be 
brought to say simply * Vive la R6publique ; ' the 
cry is * Vive I'ordre 1 ' the officials say * Vive la 
Republique (et I'Armee) ; ' the National Guard and 
the People add * honnete.' 

The place is full of agents of the Due de Bordeaux, 
whom it is now the fashion to represent as very 
Liberal, very much opposed to the opinions of his 
family, exceedingly clever, and not likely to take the 
Faubourg St. Germain ; all this is absurd, but such is 
the yearning after Monarchy of any sort, at any price, 
that even his chances are seriously discussed by the 
lower orders, admitted by the middle class, and of 

1 This alludes to the Princes and officers who had fought in the Algerian 
campaign. 



236 PARIS IN '48. [July 17th. 

course hailed with rapture by what is still called the 
nobility. It would not surprise me to see the events 
of the last thirty years acted over again, Henri V. 
brought back by general weariness of a military 
dictator, upset by the mistakes of his adherents, and 
replaced by the Younger Branch which would be 
in its turn swept away by the popular torrent. The 
prosperity of France will in future only be momen- 
tary, each change will render more frequent the 
return of its periodical convulsions until it sinks into 
utter insignificance, perhaps even becomes a Cossack 
province. 

It is sad to contemplate but, the more danger to 
the individual diminishes, the more imminent is the 
universal peril : there are no real passions at work, no 
tangible abuses to remedy ; it is an incessant, restless 
action from below, which destroys without a chance of 
improvement, without even filling the place left empty 
by defunct powers. The Reign of Terror by its 
violence assured the Imperial despotism ; the present 
revolution meets with no resistance but sweeps slowly 
and surely to destruction. 

I am ashamed of never writing anything but 
politics, but I never see any one except official 
persons, nor do I ever hear a word of any one in 



July2oth.] A MOMENTARY LULL. 237 

their private capacity. We all remain here, at least 
for the present. 



XLIL 

July 20th. 

The rumours of war have now subsided, and yet 
I do not think the feeling of security has gained 
ground ; the recent change of ministers is not good. 
Bethmont was not a * Republicain de la veille,' and 
therefore some reliance was placed on him which 
is more than can be said of Marie who, though 
the best of the lot, is none the less one of the 
Provisional Government and of the Executive Com- 
mission ; Marrast too, the President advocated by 
he National^ is also a relic of February and as such 
not only Republican, but revolutionary. It is greatly 
feared that Cavaignac, secure against armed opposition, 
will act upon the political programme of his brother 
Godefroi and his mother, a decided Communist ; the 
impression here is that the royal property will be at 
least sequestrated to guarantee a loan, if not actually 
confiscated. The Dictator does not feel sufficiently 
sure of the democratic sentiments of France to allow 
them to be tested by a rich Pretender. My informant 
is Baron Foin, the King's agent, who even thinks they 



238 PARIS IN '48. [July 20th. 

will attack the property of the Comte de Chambord, 
which the statesmen of the July Revolution had 
respected ; I should think this impression was correct, 
from the very decided part taken by Berryer in favour 
of the House of Orleans, for which he certainly has no 
personal sympathy. If the masses were not so narrow- 
minded, they would understand that authorising any 
species of confiscation is at once throwing down the 
barriers of property ; but instead of that they are told 
that this spoliation will prevent bankruptcy, and they 
look no farther. 

It is certain that there is not money enough to 
finish the year ; two hundred millions will only afford 
temporary relief, and will by no means give the 
Government permanent resources ; no system of taxa- 
tion can be invented to support one hundred and 
twenty thousand paupers in Paris, besides the usual 
State expenditure, and this is what we have come to. 
The reductions proposed are in thousands, the addi- 
tional expenses of cheap government in millions ; the 
professors of the military colleges are to be paid less, 
but the cost of admission to these establishments, 
including outfit and pocket money, is to be borne 
entirely by the State. 

Thiers is doing great service ; by the extreme 



July2oth.] THIERS' ABILITY. 239 

lucidity of his talent he has dispelled all clouds, 
pulverised all systems, and clearly demonstrated the 
vast inroads made by Communism into the proposed 
Constitution. I am not certain that he will point out 
the remedies as clearly as the fallacies ; Louis Philippe 
always said : " Thiers c'est un excellent vaisseau d'abor- 
dage, mais une fois dans le port, il faut le lacher, il ne 
sait rien organiser." That is the reason he always 
called him in at the moment of a crisis, and returned 
to the doctrinaires when the danger was past. 

I am afraid the old Opposition wants to go too 
fast ; they are already putting forward Dufaure and 
Duvergier de Hauranne, which is very unwise while 
the dynasty of Le National has even a printer untried. 
Rumour says that Cavaignac is to marry a Mademoi- 
selle Dubochet, daughter of the late manager of that 
paper, but the lower classes believe he is to marry the 
Duchesse d'Orleans and become Regent. Nothing 
is too absurd to be swallowed by the mob, who can 
combine such credulity with such immense courage ; 
but can one feel secure against any outbreak from any 
quarter, however improbable } If any royal personage 
has a chance now it is Henri V. ; somehow the unpopu- 
larity of the Orleans Princes has increased ; they have 
shown coldness to some who went over to them, and 



240 PARIS IN '48. [July 24th. 

have refused to receive others, which has had a bad 
effect. However, " on n'est jamais trahi que par les 
siens," and the Legitimists are so hated that I much 
fear their chief could not found anything solid. 



XLIII. 

July 24th. 

I have been hesitating about writing to-day, I have 
so little to say and that little is so very unsatisfactory ; 
but no amount of gloom or dulness can surprise you 
who know how we are situated between France and 
Ireland, so I will send a few lines all the same. 

My Irish correspondents are greatly alarmed, and 
to me it seems with reason. Mama however says 
she has known Ireland so all her life, and is extremely 
calm, though we have nothing anywhere else. I trust 
she may be right, and hope for the best though the 
experience of the rest of Europe is sadly against her 
theory. I am told the Apponys have hardly anything 
left; the suppression of abuses has curtailed their 
pension at Vienna and almost taken their whole income 
in Hungary : it is very sad after so many years of the 
most delightful position in the world. 

Here we are very quiet but we do not recover 



July 24th.] AN EXPENSIVE SYSTEM. 241 

confidence ; after securing peace we are counting up 
what it will cost, and it is impossible not to shudder 
at the formidable drain on the public resources that an 
army of sixty thousand men must prove ; the Mobile 
too are to be augmented, and their pay of 1.50 fr. a 
day is a very heavy expense. Then we have pensions 
to the wounded, and that most silly plan of gratuitous 
admission to the military schools. The provinces 
won't pay to support the Republic, and Paris has 
exhausted all its own sources of revenue : if there is a 
fresh insurrection it will be joined by the small trades- 
people, in which class the sufferings are even worse 
than among the actual workmen ; this implies a 
division in the ranks of the National Guard, and the 
consequences might be most disastrous. Nothing can 
last in this wretched country : the state of siege is the 
only guarantee of order we have, and loud clamour 
is raised against it. Cavaignac is beginning to lose 
ground by his obstinate adherence to the * Republicains 
de la veille : ' he has prejudiced the armed population 
against him by his very petty decision to receive them 
in plain clothes ; they consider this a slight, and that 
Cavaignac I. should remember that he has gained civil 
power only in virtue of his sword ; he has been rather 
cold and supercilious on one or two occasions, and 

R 



242 PARIS IN '48. [July 24th. 

among others towards the Conseil d'Etat. Their 
leader on presenting them began a speech enumerating 
their services, which he interrupted saying : " I do not 
wish to know their antecedents ; I am satisfied that they 
are all Republicans," and bowed them out ; this was 
thought very laconic by the dignitaries who, for eighteen 
years, had been used to the well-turned speeches of the 
Citizen King. 

Bastide, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, lives in 
such a perpetual fright that he cannot answer a single 
question ; in committee he is so deplorable that they 
make out their foreign policy by newspapers and such 
documents as they can get at. The Right of Labour 
has been thrown out in most of the bureaux and 
struck out of the Constitution, but it will lead to 
stormy discussions when it comes before the public ; 
many members, reasonable enough in private, become 
dreadful when goaded on by their colleagues of the 
* Montagne,' or by dread of the Moniteur. Everything 
is dispiriting for it is impossible to rely on any one ; 
the prisoners will be treated far too gently, and for the 
sake of economy many of them will I am sure be let 
loose again, with the thirst for revenge added to their 
other bad passions. Nothing however will be decided 
immediately, and as there will now probably be a few 



July 27th.] POLITICAL SATIRE. 243 

quiet weeks, I am actually going to make an excur- 
sion to Dieppe with some friends. It will be quite 
delightful to inhale the sea-breeze after so many- 
months of Republican Paris, unswept, unwashed, 
uncared for. 



XLIV. 

July 27th. 

I have no political news of any Importance this 
time ; no one can stir under the state of siege which 
Cavaignac seems determined to maintain. This will 
ruin E. de Girardin whose paper was his only fortune. 
He has published his justification in a serious and 
well-written but utterly uninteresting pamphlet ; I 
should have sent it had it been worth reading. Have 
you read ' Jerome Paturot a la Recherche de la Meilleure 
des R^publiques ' .? It is a clever satire on the present 
state of chaos, and is much read just now. 

The trials of insurgents are going on, but the 
authorities will not carry the investigations beyond the 
* instruments,' and therefore all will have to begin 
over again. I know for certain that Senard applied for 
leave to take proceedings against Lamartine and Ledru 
Rollin, and it has been refused for fear it should shake 



244 PARIS IN '48. [July 27th. 

the Republic to its very foundations ; the end of this 
will be that about forty will be shot, from three to five 
hundred transported, and the rest let loose to continue 
the Republican line. "Avec les honn^tes gens la 
graine s'en perd," is the popular saying, and no one 
dares yet allow the impossibility of a Republic : many 
think it will be upset in September ; others less sanguine 
believe that next spring will bring about a crisis ; to 
my mind both these periods appear to be too short, 
and it would be folly to reason now from probability 
and analogy, when everything is so unlike the past. 

Mons. Thiers' exposition of Proudhon's Socialist 
plans has had immense success ; but it was really 
preaching to converts, as every one sees the utter fallacy 
of such doctrines. There is a slight tendency to com- 
mercial improvement, and the theatres, which had been 
closed for three weeks, are full every night. I was at 
the Palais Royal on Tuesday, and saw a delightful 
burlesque of the Republic, besides some of those 
charming trifles which have un succes de fou rire. I 
go to Dieppe on Saturday. 



August 3rd.] PROPOSED INTERVENTION. 245 

XLV. 

August 3rd. 

I have just returned from the seaside, and am 
much struck by the total absence of Republican demon- 
stration on the road. It was the inauguration of the 
Dieppe railway, so we took down two Ministers, and 
all the authorities both of Dieppe and Rouen were 
drawn up to receive the cortege ; but the whole affair 
went off in perfect silence. An officer tried to get up a 
* Viva * for the Republic, but all he got for his pains was 
an energetic * Je m'en fiche ' that went down the whole 
line. I beg pardon for the expression, but it is textual 
and no other would convey the same comprehensive 
meaning. The very bathing-men cannot resist asking 
every one they dip " Quand done en finirons-nous 
avec la Republique } " To which the answer invariably 
is " Bientot ; " and this elicits a hearty " Dieu vous 
entende ! " The favourable turn which affairs took a 
few days after the insurrection is quite past ; how can 
one have confidence in a Republic which requires the 
state of siege, the suppression of the free press, and an 
army of sixty thousand men to keep peace in the streets } 
Great fears are entertained about the intervention 
in Italy, but Bastide says he will oppose it with all his 



246 PARIS IN '48. [August 3rd. 

might, and resign rather than in any way compromise 
the English alliance the only one in which he trusts ; 
he has no faith in * fraternity,' and is too much of 
a Republican to trust other Republics. He is most 
desperately ignorant, as you will judge from the follow- 
ing anecdote : At the time of the insurrection at 
Prague, an ex-authority in Guizot's cabinet advised him 
to watch the Slavonic movement, and to keep an agent 
on the spot ; he acquiesced and gravely asked who 
was the late King's representative at the Court of 
Bohemia ! His Chef de Cabinet is Hetzel, a bankrupt 
bookseller and bad musician, but certainly not a states- 
man unless du lendemain} 

Anselm Petitet once a newspaper writer has been 
sent to Hanover, and openly avows his intention of 
reducing the haughtiness and etiquette of King Ernst to 
a Republican level. I doubt his success, but he will 
certainly make himself troublesome, as even his patrons 
say : *' C'est un esprit fagot d'epines." ^ 

1 Hetzel was a librarian ; in '48 he was successively Chief of the Cabinet, 
in the Ministry for Foreign Aifairs and in that of the Navy j finally, Secre- 
tary-General to the Executive. He retired voluntarily from public life after 
December loth, and collaborated on the National and the Re'vue Comique, 
which dealt with political events. After 1851 he was exiled and lived at 
Bruxelles till the amnesty of '59. 

2 It is difficult to see why this prickly representative was chosen for such 
an embassy. Petitet served first in the Army, then entered the bureaux of 



August 3rd.] FEAR OF CIVIL WAR. 247 

The diplomatist alluded to by Boissy in his letter 
to Lamartine is Leiraut, Minister at Naples and ex- 
prompter of a theatre on the boulevards. Financial 
affairs are much depressed by the extraordinary conduct 
of Goudchaux, who now seems inclined to imitate 
Duclerc and court the ' Montagne ; ' the new system 
of taxation will again impede the circulation of money, 
and send back capital to the cellars and strong boxes 
from which it emerged so cautiously after the victory 
of June. Civil war is inevitable and, though conspi- 
racies are daily discovered, yet as no one is punished 
the seeds must remain and bear fruit some day, Com- 
panies of sappers and miners are forming in the 
National Guard, and every preparation is being made 
for carrying on the next war with less danger to the 
friends of order. 

You cannot imagine how disappointed the Radical 
Government press is at Queen Victoria being still on 
the throne and Ireland remaining a portion of the 
Empire ; they are furious and shaking their fists at the 
cowardly Milesians who cannot even man a barricade or 
murder a policeman. For my part, although thankful 

the Ministry of War where he was employed in various departments, e.g. 
military schools, recruiting, etc. In April '48 he was appointed Accountant- 
General, and retained the post under the Empire. 



248 PARIS IN '48. [August 7th. 

for the result, I own it astonishes me ; my notions 
of a mob conceived when a child in July, 1830, and 
developed by so many subsequent riots, did not lead 
me to expect this bloodless victory. I trust that 
Ireland may long continue to respect the law, and that 
a just and severe punishment of the rebels will deter 
any future imitators. Let them come here and see the 
effects of self-government, and if that lesson does not 
suffice they are all fit for Bedlam. 



XLVI. 

August 7th. 

I shall be much disappointed if you do take the 
new route to Constantinople, for I have been looking 
forward for months to the pleasure of seeing you. 
However active a correspondence may be it is nothing 
to one hour's conversation, and one morning's visit is 
worth volumes of letters. Besides, it must be much 
easier to come through France than in any way to 
touch upon insurgent Italy ; there you will meet with 
danger everywhere, here it will be concentrated in a 
few streets. As to expense, why, Paris is now empty ! 
and a great diminution has necessarily taken place in 
the price of everything. Put me to any use you like 



Aug. 7th.] MIGNET SHOT AT BY MISTAKE. 249 

in looking out or bargaining, but do not let me think 
that we may not meet for years. I am determined to 
hope until you are far off" via Germany, and, seriously, 
I should think this way the wisest and the quietest. 

We have no particular news stirring just now, 
though very many sinister rumours are afloat. Mignet 
was shot at by mistake for Thiers, and many deputies 
of the * Plaine ' have received threatening notices.^ 
The general impression is that Caussidi^re will get up 
a row, as a chess-player sometimes upsets the board 
when he sees his game is lost. He is a most dangerous 
rascal with a bluffs manner concealing excessive cunning, 
which has great influence on his * puissances du jour ' 
the working classes. There is no doubt that if the 
National Guard were unanimous the Republic would 
be at end ; but it now rests on their divisions, and 
everything is done to keep them up. The coming 
elections will be greatly manipulated to exclude aristo- 
crats, but I think that, like Ledru RoUin's circulars, 
they will overshoot the mark. 

* Mignet was educated as a lawyer, but followed a literary career and 
wrote articles on histoiy and on external politics. He was also a very dis- 
tinguished lecturer. In 1824. he published his ' Histoire de la Revolution 
Fran^aise.' In '30 he went on to the staff of the National, and was made 
Director of the Archives of the Affaires Etrangeres, which post he held 
until deprived of it by Lamartine in '48. 



250 PARIS IN '48. [August 7th. 

I am happy to say seven hundred prisoners were 
taken down to Havre on Saturday very quietly ; their 
removal was kept very secret to avoid a rescue, and 
succeeded perfectly. They are to be put on board- 
ship immediately, and to sail for Brest to await orders, 
as no one knows where they are to be sent. Is it not 
strange that the Republic which bears on its banner 
' Liberty, Equality, Fraternity ' should adopt the 
system of pontoons, the invention of the tyrannical 
and perfidious Albion ^ 

1 had almost forgotten to mention the event of the 
week — the opening of a Republican salon ; Marrast 
gave a grand dinner followed by a concert, on Thurs- 
day last. The men looked as usual, but I am told the 
women were dreadful. Madame Marrast was assisted 
by Madame Very in doing the honours. This ex- 
beauty began life as a painter's model, and after sundry 
vicissitudes settled down into the comptoir of a famous 
restaurant-keeper. Madame Marrast, like most of the 
wives of the Provisional Government, is English and 
the papers will have it that she is a FitzClarence, which 
is very absurd. Madame Bastide made a collection in 
the evening for the poor, and four thousand of the ilite 
of the Republic made out about iioo fr., that is about 
five sous a head. What do your two-guinea ticket 



August loth.] REPUBLICAN CHARITY. 251 

takers say to the charity of a country which is pro- 
foundly democratic and looks down with contempt on 
an unfeeling aristocracy ! 

The question of intervention ^ is getting very 
serious. There is no doubt it ought to be granted, 
but, as it would end in the downfall of France, it is 
most likely it will wear out as the Polish question 
did, in sympathy. For my part all my sympathies 
are with Austria. I should so wish the old cause of 
Divine Right to hold its own ; the very name of 
Republic has become odious to me, and when I hear 
of * un Republicain honn6te,' I think of George Sand's 
heroic convict Tremmov, and am utterly disgusted. 



XLVII. 

August loth. 

... I am most anxious to know what route you 
will take ; any part of Italy neighbouring on Lom- 
bardy appears to me most unpleasant and if there is 
an intervention it will be worse, as I suppose the 
Austrians would be beaten at first. Every sensible 
person in, or connected with, the Government is im- 
patiently awaiting the result of the negotiations, and 

' On behalf of Italy. 



252 PARIS IN '48. [August loth. 

hoping for the peaceable solution of the Italian 
question ; but there is a war party, and the minority 
has so constantly carried the day of late that I know 
not what to think. A campaign after our street war 
will leave France wholly without generals ; Bedeau is 
given over, and this will be the fifth victim in the 
highest ranks of the Army ; they cannot extract a 
piece of red cloth which keeps the W(3und in a per- 
petual state of irritation, and the fever is so high that 
it is feared he will sink under what at first appeared 
to be a very trifling injury. 

All the bad newspapers are reappearing and to 
allow this, before all the insurgents are disposed of, 
is really most imprudent. Since the liberty of the 
press has been suspended, and the interests of pro- 
prietors and subscribers set at nought, it mattered 
little whether the arbitrary measures extended over 
six or eight weeks, and its restoration may now have 
a most disastrous effect. It is believed that Louis 
Blanc and Caussidiere really will be impeached, and 
that Ledru RoUin will escape ; as he says himself, he 
is not a conspirator, he never concealed his acts which, 
however subversive of order, received the sanction 
of his colleagues and the tacit approbation of the 
Assembly in two successive votes of confidence ; not 



August loth.] LEGITIMIST REACTION. 253 

so the others who always professed that all means 
were good to attain the democratic end. Great 
scandal is expected from the revelations of witnesses 
innumerable, and if it goes too hard with the men 
of February, there is no doubt there will be another 
appeal to the street. The Army is decidedly in- 
fluenced by the women of the faubourg, and no 
regiment is allowed to remain more than a month at 
St. Maur, to avoid the too great development of the 
Republican principle of fraternity. For my part I 
foresee a speedy convulsion, not from any positive 
symptom, but from the general uneasiness and the 
strength the Reaction is gaining everywhere. 

I still persist in thinking the tendency is Legitimist, 
and will be so until the death of the King. If Louis 
Philippe were removed, perhaps the eminent men of 
the last eighteen years might rally round the Duchesse 
d'Orleans and procure her the support of the strongest 
party in France, the bourgeoisie ; but as long as he 
lives, they who made him what he is will consider 
he has betrayed them or neglected their interests, and 
will try to found a Republic, rather than submit anew 
to his influence. The provinces are full of sympathy 
for the Comte de Chambord. I am sorry for it, for 
his rule would not last, and I would rather see some 



254 PARIS IN '48. [August 14th. 

fresh Napoleon, but peaceable If possible ; I believe 
however this is asking for *un merle blanc,' as the 
proverb says, so I had better cease my conjectures. 



XLVIII. 

August 14th. 

The more I read and hear of Italy and its environs, 
the more I feel how much more prudent it would be 
for you to decide on Marseille instead of Trieste for 
your embarcation ; with us the most decisive revolu- 
tions are planned and carried out in a corner of Paris 
which you need never visit, and everywhere else the 
whole country seems to be In flames at the first signal 
of a popular movement. Of course I am greatly 
interested in your decision ; but I assure you, apart 
from all personal considerations, I should advise this 
route as the safest. If you came by Brighton and 
Dieppe, I would meet you on the pier and come back 
immediately. I have only consented to go, on the 
condition of returning to see you. Dieppe Is now 
only five hours from Paris by rail, and the whole 
journey Is delightful. 

I have very little political news to give you ; 
the inquiry is said to be crushing for Ledru RoUin, 



August i4th.] LAMARTINE IMPEACHED. 255 

and I believe It from his crestfallen attitude at the 
Assembly on Saturday.^ Louis Blanc and Caussidiere 
are among the number of those who may be trans- 
ported, and there are two letters of Lamartine's to 
Sobrler that are very little to the credit of the poet. 
I know a man who is a sincere Republican and who 
had an affectionate regard for Lamartine, and he said 
to me yesterday, '*Jusqu'a la publication des pieces, 
j'eviterai de le voir, car je ne pourrais me decider a 
lui donner la main." The general impression is that 
the traitors will not submit without a struggle, but 
my hope rests on the impossibility of stirring up the 
people ; they are perfectly cowed, not only by the 
defeat sustained, but also by the decided steps taken 
with regard to the prisoners ; they had relied upon 
the difficulties attending on such a gigantic trial, and 
entertained hopes of a general amnesty. Transporta- 
tion excludes all pretensions to martyrdom, and the 
distance will prevent any future riot placing them in 
power like their predecessors who were let loose in 
February. 

I saw Proudhon on Saturday ; he looks unlike a 
Communist, being well dressed and better soigne than 

1 He was sentenced to transportation for life for liis share in the Revo- 
lution of June ; he fled to England and was amnestied in 1870. 



256 PARIS IN '48. [August 14th. 

many of the class : his forehead is intelligent and his 
eyes are quick and sharp looking, but he is red-haired 
which is one of my great antipathies. His mad speech 
has spread far and wide ; it is devoured by the half 
educated who see in it the accomplishment of their 
dearest wish — levelling ; they know they will be no 
better off, but their ruling spirit is envy and they care 
for nothing provided they can say to the rich "You 
too shall suffer and starve with us." This feeling is 
so universal that, though we may avert the evil for 
years — perhaps, as Proudhon says, for centuries — still 
there will be a constant struggle between society and 
brute force, in which temporary advantage will be 
gained by both parties. The glory of France is gone, 
so is her prosperity, and even calm will be hollow 
and deceptive ! 

How shameful are the details of the Belgian ^ expe- 
dition, how lying the promises made to Italy ! What 
misanthropists we must all have become with such 
proofs of human fallibility and infamy ! 

1 On the 24th March '48, about 800 French crossed the frontier into 
Belgium, their object being to overthrow the throne of Leopold. He had 
however lately made such concessions to the democratic party — lowering 
the franchise, etc. — that he was able to crush this revolutionary movement, 
and one which took place a little later ; it must be to one of these expedi- 
tions that allusion is here made. 



August 17th.] THE COMTE DE CHAMBORD. 257 



XLIX. 

August 17th. 

I am greatly disappointed with your last letter, for 
I can no longer hope to see you before you depart 
for the East. Indeed, if we have the threatened riot 
this week, I suppose it would be thought madness 
to come here, though we are the best proofs of the 
absolute safety of all who remain perfectly quiet ; still 
I can understand that such things must appear frightful 
at a distance, and anxious relatives must suffer agonies 
during the intervals between the posts. If there is 
a struggle it will be very short and very fierce, entirely 
concentrated about the National Assembly, with Italy 
for a pretext and perhaps the white flag for a blind. 
I have seen a letter from Frohsdorf, in which the 
Comte de Chambord implores his adherents not to 
raise his standard and even to join against the cry 
of * Vive Henri V.,' as he does not choose to be 
elected by a faction but to be chosen of the whole 
Nation ; he adds that his exile has been mitigated and 
his every thought brightened by the prospect of some 
day returning to France ; he deprecates civil war, and 
seems to contemplate the possibility of a concoiidat 
between universal suffrage and divine right. It is 

s 



258 PARIS IN '48. [August 17th. 

certain that his party has gained greatly within the 
last two months ; the cause of Monarchy cannot but 
profit by the defects of the Republic, and it is im- 
possible to contemplate a Regency in the present state 
of confusion. 

Cavaignac is losing ground and, besides, he is 
thoroughly disheartened, and acts with the gloomy 
conviction that each day is his last ; threats of 
assassination meet him on every side, and he can 
hardly adopt all the precautions that so often preserved 
the life of Louis Philippe ; he said lately to a friend : 
" Apres moi vous aurez Lamoriciere, apres lui Bedeau, 
et puis il ne reste plus rien." This, however, is not 
very clear, as it is whispered that Bedeau's model in 
history is Monk and that his sympathies have always 
been with the Elder Branch. The Army is furious to 
find that military government is quite as peaceable as 
civil rule, and that Cavaignac and Bastide will just 
follow the line of policy pursued by Louis Philippe 
and Guizot. 

The Princess Belgiojoso has arrived here, more 
violent than ever, screaming for the intervention and 
looking the very image of an infuriated Bellona ; she 
says that Lombardy has been betrayed by Carlo 
Alberto, that the Milanese are brave and would fight 



August i7th.] WITHOUT A HELMSMAN. 259 

again ; this account of affairs meets with no belief, but 
it spreads far and wide among the lower classes who 
are always ready to take up a war cry. Ledru Rollin 
will be so totally ruined if all the papers relating to 
the inquiry are published, that there is an impression 
he will blow up the Chamber rather than await the 
result. Louis Blanc has still great influence with the 
workmen ; Caussidiere has the secret societies all 
ready ; and the clique of the National^ the men now 
in power, are so afraid of the Monarchist reaction 
that they prefer the Red Republic which perhaps the 
combination of parties may bring about for a week. 
In that case the provinces would certainly march 
upon Paris, and as certainly proclaim a king. The 
editor of the Assemblee Nationaky which I consider the 
best-informed paper on internal affairs, said yesterday 
to a friend of mine on whose veracity I can rely, that 
he did not see how we could escape a very short 
interval of * Red ' government ; as long as any 
democratic system has been left untried, no permanent 
monarchy can establish itself, and the Legitimists are 
so fully aware of this, that they are trying to attenuate 
the salutary dread felt up till now of a Reign of 

1 Louis Blanc and Caussidiere were however sentenced to transporta- 
tion, and fled to England. 



26o PARIS IN '48. [August 17th. 

Terror. It is very wicked, but their tactics may- 
succeed as there is no doubt that half the National 
Guard would remain at home, rather than fight any 
king whatsoever. 

The worst feature of the present crisis is that one 
hundred and forty-seven muskets are still unaccounted 
for and, though some may have gone to that infamous 
expedition in Belgium and some may have been 
thrown into the rivers, still a very formidable number 
. may yet remain in improper hands. 

Here then the letters break off, the writer leaving 
us with a profound sense of insecurity and of disquiet. 
The insurrection of June proved fatal to the Republic. 
In the panic which followed it, the desire for the 
concentration of administrative power gained ground, 
together with the general distrust now exhibited in 
violent attacks on former members of the Provisional 
Government. At the same time, the Assembly — 
belying the false confidence of Louis Blanc — had 
suicidally abandoned its right to select its own 
President, as Grevy proposed, through the Council of 
Ministers. The election of the President was left, 
along with that of the single Legislative Chamber, to 
universal suffrage. Thereby the Assembly's hold on 
the nation became a weak and precarious one ; indeed 
it practically ceased to be a power in the State. It was 



LOUIS NAPOLEON. 261 

but a matter of time till the Republican Government 
should be swept away. 

Cavaignac, highly popular and with 80,000 men 
at his disposal, might, as dictator, have guided the 
Republic to safety ; but he shrank from any uncon- 
stitutional action, and so left the field free for less 
scrupulous competitors. He was content to be nomi- 
nated for the Presidency against the man who, in the 
eyes of the people, was the heir and successor of the 
great Napoleon and, in his own fatalistic belief, was 
destined to usher in an era of greatness for France 
under a Bonaparte dynasty. 

Louis Napoleon appeared in the Chamber on 
September 26th, and on December loth was elected 
President by an immense majority of votes. Within 
a year (June 13, 1849), the troops were called in to 
override the democratic party who resisted the despatch 
of a force in aid of the Pope against a Republican 
insurrection. The Monarchists forming the largest 
combination in the divided Assembly, went back from 
the Constitution, to Lamartine's disgust, and passed a 
disfranchising law (May 31, 1850). With the dis- 
missal of Changarnier from the command in Paris, the 
Empire drew near and, two years later when the 
Constitution expired (May, 1852) — the Assembly 
having been led by the democratic section to deny 
itself the power of arming — the Coup d'Etat followed 
(December ist), and a plebiscite managed under 
terrorism made Louis Napoleon Emperor. 



262 PARIS IN '48. 

The crisis had been brought about by a feeble and 
premature but definitely Socialistic meddling with 
industry. This was the new factor in the Revolution 
of '48. Throughout the five months of disturbance, 
the partisans of democracy on one side and the 
bourgeoisie on the other, were selfishly bent on their 
own political advantage ; and their selfishness robbed 
the country of the fruits of a revolution which might 
have ultimately brought peace and orderly progress. 



INDEX. 



Aboyne, Lord, viii 

Adelaide, Mme. , sister to Louis Philippe, 
25, and 71., 57 

Adolphe. See St. Geniez. 

Affre, Monsignor. Sec Paris, Arch- 
bishop of. 

Albert, in the Provisional Government, 
22 w. ; George Sand's mouthpiece, 
events of his life, 94 and 71. ; loses 
importance, 138 ; arrested, 144, 145, 
161, 168; belongs to La Montague, 
163 ; other notices, 76, 99 

Alberto, Carlo. See Charles Albert. 

Algiers, 41 «., 84 w., 90 «., 114, 119, 

153 «•■ 235 

Allen, Dr., ix 

Alton Sh^e, D', 129 and n. 

Alvanley, Lord, i.x 

Apponys, the, 82, 240 

Arago, Emmanuel, clever and educated, 
15 ; memoir of, 16 n. ; one of the 
Provisional Government, 22 «. ; ' tas 
de ragots,' 104; his nepotism, 161; 
one of the Executive, 192 n. ; on the 
labour commission, 199 ;/. ; other 
notices, 48, 73, 92, 133, 153 71. 

Aiago, Etienne, 152, 15372., 168 

Arcourt, D', 55 

"Aristocracy, Study of, in Relation to 
the Progress of Civilisation," by Hip- 
polyte Passy, 164 n. 

Artois, Comte d'. See Charles X. 

Ashburnham, Mr. and Mrs., vi, ix 

Assembly, National, invaded. May 15th, 
32 ;/., 136, 142-146 ; elections for, 35, 
38 «., 96, 163, 169, T73, 249; guard 
for, 43, 127 ; will it set up a king, 
49, 63, 105 ; meeting of, 54, 64, 95, 
loi, 114; wish to hold meetings not 



in Paris, 6i ; almost bankrupt, 91 ; 
description of, 131-135 ; mediocrity 
of, 148, 160, 175, 176, 179, 184, 187 ; 
iniquitous acts of, 150, 151 ; absurd 
debate, 151-154 ; letter from Napo- 
leon, 194 ; appoints labour com- 
mission, 199 11, ; abandons right to 
select President, 260 ; passes dis- 
franchising law, 261 ; other notices, 
16 »., 38, 42, 59, 65, 84 «., 88, 94 71., 

99 71., 107, III //. , 114 71., 124 71., 

128 71., 141 ;/. , 156 71., 164, 166, 174, 

178 71., 181 71., 182, 186, 198, 210, 

219, 221-233, 255, 257 

Augeraud, Mme., ix 

Aumale, Henry Eugene Due d', fourth 

son of Louis Philippe, 41 n., 90 n, 
Aupick, General, 89 
Austria, 9 and «., lo 71., 55, 71, 75, 177, 

19s 71., 240, 251 
Auvergnats, 85 

Bac, 146 and 77. 
Banks, 46, 47, 60, 67, 97, 107 
Barb^s, head of the 12th Legion, 117, 
132 ; memoir, 118 and;,?. ; a Spartan, 
121 ; only he and Blanqui resolute, 
138 ; uses Poland to cover ambition, 
128, 136, 142 ; arrested, 145 ; belongs 
to La Montague, 163 ; other notices, 
124 71., 126, 136, 138, 140, 144, 149, 
151. 153. 157. 159. 165. 168, 178, 183, 

220, 235 

Barricades, vii, ix, iii«., 175, 201, 202, 

206, 207, 215, 218, 221, 225 «., 229 
Barri^re de I'Etoile, 96 

de Fontainebleau, 206, 224, 225 «. 

de Rochechouart, 206 

du Trone, 218 



264 



INDEX. 



Bastide, 126 and n,, 242, 245, 258 

Bastide, Mme. , 250 

Baud, at Club des Pr^voyans, 62 

Beauharnais, Prince Eugene de, 227 71. 

Beaumont, Gustave de, 202 

Beauvais, Etienne de, 223 

Bedeau, General, 41 and n. , 252, 258 

Belgiojoso, Princess, 258 

Belgium, 70, 75, 82, 124 w., 246-?;. , 
256 and n. , 260 

B^ranger, quoted, 175 

Berger, 115 

Berlin, See Prussia. 

Bernard, 122, 123, 124 «., 149, 218 

Berry, Due de, 4 

Berry, the Misses, ix 

Berryer, 133, 134 n., 135 «., 234, 238 

Berthois, De, 19 

Bertrand, General, 167 

Bethmont, 48 and 71. , 166, 182, 237 

Blanc, Louis, in Provisional Govern- 
ment, 13 71., 22 n. ; clever and 
educated, 15; career, 15 71., 16 71. ; 
relations Vifith working classes, 28, 
112, 120, 168, 259 ; his theories, 40 
and 71,, 122 and 71,, 226 71. ; most 
wicked of the Ultras, parentage, 47, 
48; 'Chou Blanc,' 68; takes no 
salary, 76 ; his methods, 89 ; ' Louis 
Blague,' 104 ; proposal to prosecute 
him, 114 «., 167, 174, 226 71., 252; 
excluded from the executive, 127 ; 
' Petit Banc,' 133 ; of no importance, 
138 ; a traitor, 145, 153, 161 ; a leader 
of ' La Montagne,' 163; transported, 
259 71. ; other notices, 52, 94 and «., 
99, 129, 164 71., 185 71., 255, 260 

Blanqui, Auguste, Communist, founds 
the first club, 58 71. ; memoir, 69 71, ; 
his share in 15th May, 136, 142, 144, 

168 ; other notices, 68, 76, 87, 92, 93, 
99, 124 71., 126, 138, 142, 144 

Blount, Mr., 202 
Blount, Mrs., 19, 80, 155 
Blounts, the. See Lafitte and Blount. 
Boissy, 16, 247 

Bonaparte, Emperor, Napoleon L, 
alluded to, 2, 7 7i., 84 «., 135 71., 140, 

169 71., 189, 200, 261 
Bonaparte, Jerome, 188, 189 71, 
Bonaparte, Joseph, 16, 140 ti. 
Bonaparte, Louis Napoleon (Napoleon 

IIL), ix, 114 n., 124 ;/., 128 71., 
135 '^•. 153"-. i64«.,i78, 183, 184,185 
and 71., 188, 192, 194, 197, 235, 261 



Bonaparte, Lucien, 140 7i. 

Bonaparte, Pierre, 140 and «. 

Bonapartes, the, 20 

Bonapartists, 22, 181, 188 

Bonde, Baron Knut, husband of the 

writer of the letters, friend of King 

Oscar L, x, xi 
Bordeaux, Due de. See Chambord. 
Bourbons, the, vii, viii, 4, 18, 20, 42, 

126 71., 135 n., 195 71., 258 
Bourjolly, General, 44 
Brda, General, 225 7i. 
Brougham, Lord, ix, 114 
Bruxelles, Brussels. See Belgium. 
Buchez, memoir, 140 71. ; other notices, 

139, 142, 152, 153, 180 
Buddicombe, 175 
Bugeaud, 7 

' Bulletin 16 de la R^publique,' 106 
Bulwer, 161, 173 and 7t. 
Bulwers, the two, ix 

Cabarrus, 67 

Cabet, socialist, author of " Voyage en 

Icarie," 68 and 71., 92, 93, 99, 123 
Cabreres, De, 19 
Carbonari, the French, 99 7%., 128 «., 

140 71., 141 71. 

Carnot, Hippolyte, memoir, 28 «. ; his 
circular, 41, 42, 46; other notices, 
48, 226 

Carnot, Lazare, 28»., 85 

Carrel, Armand, 26 and «., 30 

Caussidi^re, Marc, Prefect of Police, 31, 
81 ; memoir, 32 77..; a ruffian, 53, 59, 
178, 249 ; speeches, 148, 198 ; resigns, 
151; other notices, 50, 76, 85, 88 «., 
129, 146, 226 71., 252, 255, 259 and 71. 

Cavaignac, General, his career, 114 n. ; 
governed by his mother, 161, 237 ; 
rumours, 182, 198, 239 ; conducts 
siege of streets in June, 199 7i., 243 ; 
Dictator, 201, 210, 226 ; popular with 
troops, 202 ; honest and shortsighted, 
219 ; to be trusted, 230 ; a Republican 
' de la vieille roche,' 235, 241 ; losing 
ground, 258 ; nominated for Presi- 
dency, 261 ; other notices, 90;^., 114, 
I27«.,i29 «.,i35 71., I46i'z.,i52,i53«,, 
181 71., 182, 198 

Cavaignac, Godefroi, 237 

C&-ise, Doctor, 65 

Chabannes, the, 19 

Chabot, Olivia de, 130 

Chalais, Prince de, 18 



INDEX. 



265 



Chambord, Henry Comte de, Due de 
Bordeaux, satirically alluded to as 
Henri V., varying prospects of, 36 
and n., 41, 54, 70, 170, 190, 197, 235, 
236, 239, 253, 257 ; proposed adoption 
of Comte de Paris, 177, 193; bribery, 
181, 188 ; other notices, 42, 161, 238 

Changarnier, General, memoir, 90 n., 
defence of Hotel de Ville, 103 ; Com- 
mander-in-Chief of National Guard, 
147 n., 182, 198, 219 ; an Orleanist, 
235 ; dismissed, 261 ; othernotices, 90, 
100, 225, 230 

Charles Albert of Piedmont, 10 ;/., 258 

Charles X., King, 3, 4, 36 /i., 37 and n., 
S4«., 135 «. 

Charras, 152, 153 ;/. , 230 

Chartists, 86 

Ch6nier, 35 

Chevalier, Michel, 59 

Chimay, Princesse de, viii 

Clary, Justinien, 136 

Club, Blanqui's, 58 71. , 76 

des Femmes, 163 

des Prevoyans, 62, 63 

of 'la Revolution,' 118 w. 

Clubs, for every industry, 31 ; number 
of in Paris, 58 and tt. ; suppressed, 
145, 150 ; other notices, 130, 143, 144 

Comit6 de Salut Public, 58, 98, 108, 

153 

Communism and Socialism, alluded to, 
7 and n., 15, 16 71., 18, 40 and w., 49, 
58 and 71., 59, 63, 68, 69 ?i., 74, 82, 83, 
91, 92, 93, 96, 98, 100, 102, 103, 106, 
1247/., 128 «., 129, 135 «., 138, 139, 
144, 149, 154, 156, 165, 178 and «., 
179, 187, 205, 210, 218, 233, 237, 239, 
255, 262 

Coquerel, 62, 134, 135 «, 

Cotter, 56 

Coubertin, M. P. de, quoted, i 

Coup d'Etat, ix. , 84 «., 135 71., 136 «., 
153 n., 261 

Courbonne, Mme. de, 82 

Courcelles, De, 7 

Courtais, General, head of National 
Guard, 30, 53, 120, 121, 132 ; a traitor, 
98, 143, 150 ; memoir, 99 w. ; other 
notices, 100, 129, 136, 168, 228 

Cousin, ix, 135 «. 

Cowley, Lady, 56 

Cowleys, the, 49 

Cremieux, 22 «., 29 and ;?., 76, 104 

Crimean War, xi, 189 7t. 



Dalmatie, Due de. See Soult. 
Days, important, referred to in the 
Letters : — 
Feb. 23, Wednesday, electoral reform 
demanded by the colonels of the 
National Guard, rioting, Odilon 
Barrot forms new ministry, 5, 6, 7, 
13. 23, 37. 50. 66, 81, 89 
Feb. 24, Thursday, abdication of 
Louis Philippe, the Tuileries and 
Palais Royal pillaged, Provisional \ 
Government formed, 5, 9, Letter 
IL, 18, 36, 37, 124, 234 
Feb. 26, Saturday, Lamartine per- 
suades the populace to keep the 
tricolour, 18, 30, 160 
March 4, Saturday, funeral of the 
victims of the February riots, 32, 33 
March 16, Thursday, Demonstration 

of the National Guard, 53 
March 17, Friday, Demonstration of 

operatives, 54, 58, 182 
April 16, Sunday, Demonstration of 
operatives. Letter XVn., 90 «., 99, 
100, 103, 174, 176, 182 
April 20, Thursday, Fete to distribute 
colours to all the regiments, 97, 98, 
102, 103 
April 28, Friday, elections for the 
Assembly, 35, 38 «., 46, 96, 104, 
105, no, 115 
May 4, Thursday, National Assembly 

meets, 35, 54, 95, 114, 160 
Alay 15, Demonstration in favour of 
Poland, Assembly invaded, 69 «., 
99 ;/., 134, 136, 137 ; Letter XXV., 
148, 151, 156, 157, 159. 161, 167, 
168, 174, 182, 235 
May 21, Sunday, Fete of Concord, 

132, 141, 150 
June 23, Friday, to June 26, Sunday, 
insurrection, 90 «., 99 «., 114 n., 
135 71., 199-228, 233, 247, 260 
Death - penalty for political offences 

abolished, 18, 30, 69, 84 w., 135 n. 
Debromel, story of, 179, 180 
Decazes, Due, motto of, 3 ; driven from 

office, 4 
Decazes, Duchesse, viii 
Decazes, Mme,, 79 
Decazes, the, 19 
D^gous^e, 62, 128 and n. , 143 
Delacour, 55 

Delahodde, Lucien, 88 and «. 
Delessert, 19, 23, 50, 87 



266 



INDEX. 



Desaix, 95 

" Dictionnaire Politique," edited by 

Duclerc, 175 71. 
' Dillon, le beau,' viii 
' Doctrinaires,' 3, 4 
Drouineau, Captain, 118 
Du Nord, Martin, 169 n. 
Dubochet, Mile., 239 
Duchatel, 23, 50, 87, 164 ;z., 168 and ?i. 
Duchatel Napolten, 87 
Duclerc, Minister of Finance, editor of 

" Dictionnaire Politique," 175 and «., 

180, 191, 194, 247 
Dufaure, 7, 133, 135 n., 219, 239 
Dumas, Alexandre, quoted, 125 ; author 

of " Feuilletons sur I'lcarie," 127 
Dumas, the, 19 

Dupin (the elder), 30, 133, 135 n. 
Dupont de I'Eure, 22 «., 52, 115 
Duvivier, General, 90, 117 

Ecclesiastical influence, 3, 4, 54, 81, 91, 

III «., 164, 169 
Encyclopidie Nouvelle, founded by 

Pierre Leroux, 156 7i. 
England, English, vii, ix, xi, 9 «. , 21, 

22, 31, 33, 59. 65, 67< 75. 83, 87, 95, 

119, 124 n., 173, 246 
Ernst, King of Hanover, 246 
Executive, 132, 148, 151, 166, 175, 179, 

182, 192 and ?i., 197, 201, 202, 212, 

225 

Favre, Jules, 113, 114??., 127, 185 «., 234 

Ferdinand II. , 9 n. 

Ferrara. See Italy. 

"Feuilletons sur I'lcarie," by Dumas, 
127 

Flahaut, De, 126 

Flocon, 15, 22 n., 48, 76, 99, 133, 138, 
140 and w. , 14T, 166 ; quoted 223 

Flocon, Mme. , 166 

Florestan II., Duke of Monaco, 49 

Flotte, 168 

Foin, Baron, 237 

Fortune, a saddler candidate, 62, 63 

Fould, Achille, 163 and n. 

Fourier, Henri, quoted, 169, 170 

"France as it is," by Andr6 Lebon, 
quoted, i 

Franchise, claim for Reform under 
Louis XVI., 2 ; Reform arrested 
under Napoleon, 3 ; moderate fran- 
chise under Louis XVIII. , 3 ; restric- 
tions of, under Charles X,, 4, 37 n. ; 



Reform Banquets, 5,56,128 n.\ Reform 
demanded, 6 ; universal suffrage, 7 
and «., 35, 38 n., 54 ?i., 59, 88, 105, 
no, 115, 128, 132, 151, 162, 174, 179, 
257 ; Guizot opposed to Reform, 14 
n. ; disfranchising law, 131 n,, 261 

Friend, the Rev. John (afterwards Sir 
John Robinson), grandfather of the 
virriter of the letters, x. 

Frohsdorf, letter from, 257 

Froment, 78 

Gardiens de Paris, 155 

Garnon, 115 

G^nie, Mons., 65 

Genoude, Abb6 de, 54 and n. 

Girardin, Emile de, memoir, 26 n, ; 
speech at Carrel's tomb, 26, 30; 
quoted, 45, 58, 104 ; his paper La 
Presse, 69, 70, 87, 115, 243; other 
notices, 28 and fi., 97, no, 163, 227 

Girardin, General Alexandre de, 28 n. 

" Girondins, Histoire des," by Lamar- 
tine, 13 71,, 126 

Goudchaux, 28, 29 w., 39, 46 «,, 48, 55, 
219, 247 

Grahams, the, 56 

Grandin, 167 

Granville, Lord, ix 

Greffulke, Jean, 108 

Gr^vy, 128 71., 135 71., 260 

Gudin, painter, ix 

Guiche, Due de, 231 

Guimard, 99 and n. 

Guise, De, Surgeon - General of the 
National Guard, 208 «. 

Guizot, ' doctrinaire,' 4 ; opposed to 
Reform, 5, 14 »., 23, 48 «. ; leaves 
Paris, 14, 37 ; influenced by Princess 
Lieven, 21, 122 ; corrupt ministry, 26 
71. , 65 ; caricatures of, 72 ; other 
notices, 50, 56, 129 ;z., 134 ;/., 135 «., 
168, 246, 258 

Hamburg, ix 

Hauranne, Duvergier de, 56 and tt., 

147. 239 
Hubert, 65, 168, 169 n. 
Henri V. See Chambord. 
Hetzel, 191, 246 and ;/. 
' ' Histoire de Dix Ans," by Louis Blanc, 

40 and 71. 
" Histoire de la Revolution Francaise," 

by Mignet, 50, 249 «. 
Hoche, 95 



INDEX. 



267 



Holland, King of, 188 
Holland, Lady, ix 
Hope, Mrs., 34 
Houdetot, D', 19 
Huber, 144, 145 11. 
Hugo, Victor, 163 
Hungary, 195, 240 
Huntly, Lord. See Aboyne. 

Ireland, vii, 74, 83, 87, 240, 247, 248 
' Irr^conciliables,' 3 
Isabella II., Queen of Spain, 65 «. 
Italian refugees. See Italy. 
Italy, 9 «., 10 71., 71, 75, 177, 245, 248, 
251 and w., 256 

Jazard, 225 

' Jerome Paturot k la Recherche de la 
Meilleure des Rdpubliques,' 243 

Joinville, Prince de, Francis Ferdinand, 
third son of Louis Philippe, 104, 
161, 162, 168, 170, 171, 189, 197 

Judith, Mile., 106 

Juteau, Captain, 221 

King, Lady Margaret (Countess of 
Mountcashel), grandmother of the 
writer of the letters, x 

King, the. See Louis Philippe. 

Koerneritz family, 14 

L'Ap^e, De, 129 

L' H^ritier, 99 

Le Hon. Mme., 171 

Labour : — 
National Workshops, tax for, 16 ;/., 
158; useless inmates of, 116, 136; 
dissolution of, 157, 199 n., 226 ; 
E. Thomas misappropriates funds 
of, 158, 182; under arms, 161, 
162 ; a standing army, 197 ; La- 
lanne succeeds E. Thomas as 
Director, at bottom of the Jime 
conspiracy, 212 and «., 222 ; other 
notices, 159 w., 166, 194 
Organisation of Labour, 40 «. , 41, 

122 and n. 
Workmen, back Ledru-RoUin, 55 ; 
the Atelier their paper, 82, 84 ; 
rising of, prevented, 96 ; other 
notices, 32, 33, 63, 66, 72, 75, 78, 
104, 133, 154, 167, 17s, 241 

Lacordaire, Pere, iiiandw., 133 

Lafarge, Mme., 146 n. 



Lafayette, George, 202 

Lafayette, Marie Marquis de, 42 «., 

128 n. 
Lafayettes, the, 6 
Lafitte and Blount, bankers, 19, 46, 47, 

79 

Lagrange, 178, 186 

Lalanne, L^on, 212 and «., 222 

Lamaitine, Alphonse de, 'doctrinaire,' 
3, 4 ; opposes Guizot, 5 ; in Pro- 
visional Government, 13 and «., 22 n, ; 
author of " Histoire des Girondins," 
13 n. ; trustworthy, 15, 18, 28 ; retains 
staff of late ministry, 29; his adherence 
to the old flag, 30 ; discrediting 
letters, 32 n., 182, 255 ; his circular, 
39 ; ' Rt^publicain en gants jaunes,' 
48 ; fraternity and finance, 67 ; un- 
able to work with Blanqui, 69 w. ; 
attitude towards Ireland, 74, 83 ; 
takes no salary, 76 ; occupied with 
foreign affairs, 89 ; his inertia, 95, 98, 
120; ' Latartine,' 104; opposed to 
a president, 114; his opposition to 
Thiers personal, 115 ; France cannot 
be ruled by a harpe dolienne, 1 16 ; 
allied with Ledru-Rollin, 125, 132, 
161, 212,243; his decline from power, 
126, 129, 138, 139, 148, 154, 165, 166, 
186, 198, 220, 221 ; speeches by, 160, 
187 ; opposes Louis Napoleon's 
nomination to Assembly, 185 n,\ 
anecdote of, 191 ; on the Executive, 
192 71, ; on labour commission, 199 n, ; 
other notices, 35, 52, 54, 75, 92, 103. 
113, 127 «., 147 «., 150, 152, 168, 175, 
202, 233, 247, 249 7t., 261 

Lamennais, 4 

Lamorici^re, General, 7, 41, 70, 210, 217, 
219, 230, 231, 235, 258 

Lannes, 169 «. 

Larochejacqueline, 133, 134 ?i, 

Lasteyrie, Jules Marquis de, 130, 131 
and n. 

Lavalette, viii 

Leblanc, 219 

Lebon, Andr^, author of " France as it 
is," I 

Ledru Rollin, Socialist, Minister of the 
Interior, 7 and «. ; in Provisional 
Government, 22 «. ; dismisses staff 
of late ministry, 29 ; in debt, 40 ; his 
circulars, 46, 85, 94, 249 ; dishonest 
policy, 48 ; paying his debts, 55 ; his 
patronage of the Riforme, 72, 82, 



268 



INDEX. 



171 ; ' savings,' 76 ; backed by work- 
men, 90; Communist conspiracy, 103 ; 
' le dur coquin, ' 104 : helped by George 
Sand, 106, 113, 122, 129 ; low in the 
elections, no ; hated, 120 ; luxurious 
habits, 121 ; relations with Lamartine, 
falling from power, 125, 126, 132, 138, 
161, 212, 220, 243 ; letters signed by, 
182 ; on the Executive, 192 n. ; on 
labour commission, 199 n. ; trans- 
ported, 254, 255 «. ; other notices, 
12, 52, S3, 58, 59, 69 71., 92, 93, 99, 
100, 105, 112, 114 n,, 115, 129 n., 
146, 158, 179, 225, 252, 259 

Legitimists, 17, 22, 36, 41, 49, 54, 73, 
no, 126, 134 71., 154, 169, 177, 188, 
193' 23s, 240, 253, 259 

Leiraut, 247 

Leopold, King of Belgium, 256 

Leroux, Pierre, Socialist, 94«., 156 and 
71., 178, 233; founded E7icyclopedie 
Notivelle, 156 71, 

Leuchtenburg, Due de, 227 and «. 

L^vis, Mme., 54 

Liberty, trees of, 67, 71, 80, 81 

Libri, 65 

Lieven, Princess, 21, 122 

Line, regiments of the, 97, 100, 149 

Lombardy, 251, 258 

Louis XVL, King, 2, 4 

Louis XVIIL, King, 3, 4 

Louis Napoleon. See Bonaparte. 

Louis Philippe, King, accession, vii, 4 ; 
abdication, 5, 9, 10, 18 ; cowardice, 
6 and 71,, 7, 13, 20; dearth of ad- 
herents, 27, 34; conduct to Thiers, 
50 ; instructions to Guizot, 65 and 71. ; 
caricatures of, 72 ; debts, 166, i85 ; 
on Thiers, 239 ; alluded to, 19, 20 «., 

23. 25 71., 38 71., 49, 54 71., 56, 57 71., 
70, 76, 85, 88 71., 95, 99 71., 128 71., 
134 71., 135 71., 137, 168, 169 71., 172, 
184, 188, 242, 253, 258 

Louis Philippe Joseph, Due d'0rl6ans, 

' Egalit^, ' 4 
Lowenhielm, Count, viii 
Luisa, Infanta, sister of Queen Isabella, 

65 and 71. 
Lurde, De, 55 
Luynes, Due de, his profession of f&ith, 



Macaulay, Lord, ix 
Magnoncour, Mme. de, 14 
Maill6, Armand de, 222 



Maistre, De, 4 

Mangin, de. Captain, 224, 225 7i. 

Manuel, Mme., 198 

Marie, in Provisional Government, 22«.; 
one of the Executive, 192 n. ; on La- 
bour Commission, 199 71. ; other 
notices, 48, 226 and 71,, 237 

Marie Am^lie, Queen, wife of Louis 
Philippe, 14, 18 

Marie Antoinette, Queen, viii 

Marie II., Queen of Portugal, 227 7t. 

Marmont, Marshal, viii, ix 

Marrast, Armand, editor of the Na- 
tioTial, 15, 16 71., 28 ; in Provisional 
Government, 22 «. ; a Republican 
saloTi, 250 ; other notices, 89, 92, 103, 
177, 182 

Marrast, Mme., 250 

Meagher, 87 

Mecklenburg, Princess Hfl^ne of. See 
Duchesse d'Orl^ans. 

Metternich, 80 

Meurice, 78 

Mignet, Fran9ois, helped to found the 
Natio7ial, 26 n.; author of " Histoire 
de la Revolution Franfaise," 249 
and n. ; mentioned, 50 

Milan, 80, 196, 258 

Milnes, Monckton, ix 

Mole, 6 and «., 7 7i., 87, 134 «. 

Money, scarcity of, 46, 59, 60, 66, 97, 
238 ; prospect of paper money, 116 

Monk, 70, 258 

Montagnards.Caussidi^re's troops, 32 ;?., 
129, 146, 221 

'Montagne,' ' Montagnards," in Na- 
tional Assembly, 99??., 124 ti., 135 «., 
146 71., 156 «., 163, 179, 242, 247 

Montalembert, ix 

Montebello, Due de, 168, 169 «. 

Montpensier, Antony Due de, youngest 

' son of Louis Philippe, 18, 65 and «., 70 

Moore, Lady Helena. See Robinson, 
Lady Helena E. 

Mornay, Jules de, 45, 143, 146 «. 

Moubro, 78 

Mouchy, Due de, in 

Mountcashel, Earl of, grandfather of 
the writer of the letters, vii, x 

Mountjoie, Mme. de, 24 

Napoleon I. See Bonaparte. 
Narvaez, Marshal, 173 71. 
National Guard, joined by Legitimists, 
17 ; conservative to a man, 35 ; 



INDEX. 



269 



confusion in, 39 ; Legion of Honour, 
44 ; elections, 53, 74, 83, 84 ; numbers 
of, 90 ; April 16th, 92, 93, 96 ; April 
20th, 98 ; exasperated, loi, 198 ; would 
they join the people? 117; Courtais 
head of, 120, 121 ; under orders of the 
Assembly, 131 ; C. Thomas Colonel 
of, 143, 147 «., 158 ; ready to fight, 
154 ; Changarnier probably to be 
Colonel, 182, 198 ; June insurrection, 
200, 201, 203, 206, 208, 230 ; babies 
brought to, 211 ; Republic maintained 
by their divisions, 249 ; would not 
fight any king, 260 ; other notices, 3, 
6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 29, 43, 47, 84 ji., 
85, 90 n., 97, 99 and «., 112, 113, 
u8 «., 134, 137, 141, 142, 145 «., 
146, 147, 149, 155, 162, 171, 178, i8i, 
182, i88, 196, 208 n., 217, 224, 225, 
229, 234, 235, 241, 247 
National Guard, Mobile, active drilling, 
22 ; soldier-like, 33 ; Alphonse de 
; Polignac Captain of, 37 ; ignorant and 
dangerous, 39, 47 ; commanded by 
Duvivier, 90 ; Duvivier resigns, 117 ; 
' Vive Napoleon,' 190 ; almost annihi- 
lated (June) 200, 204, 206 ; heroic 
conduct of, 211, 215, 217, 223 ; to be 
augmented, 241 ; other notices, 97, 
loi, 105, 120, 136, 155, 156, 171, 178, 
185, 209, 221, 224, 230 
National Workshops. Sec Labour. 
N^grier, General, 127, 210 
Nemours, Louis Charles Due de, second 
son of Louis Philippe, 11, 18, 57, 89 
Newspapers and Periodicals : — 
English — 
Punch, log and n,, 114, 165 
Times, xi, 21, 117 
French — 
Agence, 11 1 n. 

Ainidii Peiiple, 72, 82, 147 «. 
Assemblie Nationale, best paper, 
117, 123, 150, 157, 259 ; its his- 
tory, 176 ; seized, 212 ; see also, 
100, 127 
Atelier, 82, 84, 94 n. 
Avenir, iii n. 
Charivari, 127 
Commvne de Paris, 108, 212 
Constitution, 190 

Constiiutionnel, 89, 91, 94, 140, 150 
Dibats, xi, 41, 150, 198 
D6>nocratie pacifiqiie. Communist 
paper, 82, 94, 213 



Ere No live lie, m «. 

E-uropien, 140 n, 

Figaro (the old), 153 n. 

Galignani, 95 

Gazette de France, 54 ;/., 164 71. 

Journal du to Deccmbre, 159 n. 

Journal de Robespierre, \'j2, 

Libcrtd, 82 

Mkre Duchene, 172 

Moniteur, 132, 174, 180, lyi, 231, 

242 
National, edited by Marrast, 15, 
16 «. ; Carrel, Thiers and Mignet 
helped found it, 26, 249 71. ; Gui- 
mard also, 99 «. ; prejudiced and 
remarkable, 82 ; C. Thomas and 
Hetzel on staff, 147 ;/., 246 «. ; 
champions Courtais, 150 ; Char- 
ras, H. Passy and Duclerc wrote 
for it, 153 //., 164 «., 175 ;/. ; op- 
pression by, 162 ; Republican 
dynasty of, 168, 231, 239 ; see 
also, 24, 84, 94, 171, 172, 237, 259 
Patrie, •2\2. 

Pcre Duchene, 108, 172 
Presse, E. de Girardin's paper, 
267/., 69, 70, 115; quoted, 29, 
30, 33; Weill on staff, 164 n. ; 
seized, 212 ; see also, 84, 87 
Rdforine, edited by Flocon, 15 w., 
and Delahodde, 88 «. ; Caus- 
sidiere connected with, 32 n., 
Ledru Rollin's organ, 72, 82, n8, 
171 ; see also, 16 7t., 84, 155, 171 
Reprdsenta7tt du Peiiple, edited by 

Proudhon, 178 ;/. 
Ripublique, 82 
Revue Co/nique, 246 «. 

des Deux Mo7ides, 59 

Individualiste, 156 /i. 

du Progrts Politique, 122, 164 

Tribune, 135 n. 
Voix des Feini/ies, 72 
Vraie Ripublique, io6, n8, 212 
Ney, 134 «., 135 n. 
Niboyer, Mme., 163 
Niewerkerque, 144 and ;/,, 231 
Noailles, Mme. de, 8 
Normanby, Lady, 21 and n. 
Normanby, Lord, 21 n. 
Norway, xi 
Nugent, Marshal, 195 and ;/. 

O'Brien, Smith, 87 

Odilon Barrot, 7 and «., 133 



270 



INDEX. 



Old age pensions, 31 

Opera Comique, 107 

Orleans, H^lene Duchesse d', widow of 
Louis Philippe's eldest son, pro- 
claimed Regent, 9 ; her rooms not 
pillaged, 14; in the Chamber of 
Deputies, 11, 18, 57; intrigues of, 
56, 193; other notices, 57 n., 189, 
239. 253 

Orleans, the house of, vii, 20 n. , 84 n. , 
13s «•. 163 u., 177, 236, 238, 239 

Oscar L, King, x 

Osmond, Mme. d', 14 

Ozy, Mile., 55 

Pages, Garnier, on Provisional Govern- 
ment, 22 n. ; Finance Minister, 46 
and 71. ; opposes Ledru Rollin, 48 ; 
doubles taxes, 51 ; takes no salary, 
76 ; ' d^garnit la caisse,' 104 ; on the 
Executive, 192 «. ; on labour com- 
mission, 199 }i, ; other notices, 89, 
92, 107, 120 
Pagnerre, 40, 41, 47, 192 n. 
Palmerston, Lord, vi, 173 n. 
Paris, Archbishop of, iii and n, 

, Mayor of, 58 u. 

, streets, buildings, etc., in : — 

Arc de I'Etoile, 100, 103 
Boulevard des Capucines, 178 

St. Martin, 214 

Canal St. Martin, 206 

Champ de Mars, 99, 156 

Champs Elys^es, 19, 71, 149, 156, 

171, 189 
Charite (hospital), 224 
Cit^, 216 

Clos St. Lazare, 218 
Column of July, 214 
Faubourg St. Antoine, democratic, 

10, 16, 85 ; fighting in, 206, 209, 

212, 218 
Faubourg St. Germain, 53, 235 

du Temple, 10 «., 210 

Hotel Talleyrand, 21 

de Ville, 15, 47, 52, 72, 81, 

90 «., 92, 94 «., 99 n., 103, 144, 

162, 197, 222 
I'Assomption (Church), 220 
Luxembourg, 47, 118 n., 120, 145 
Monceau.menof National Workshops 

there, 158, 162 ; Emile Thomas 

there, 159, 166, 186 ; see also, 161 
Morgue, 85 
N6tre Dame, iii ?«., 134 



Opera, 11 

Palais Royal, set on fire, 11, 19; see 
also, 72, 92, 244 

Pantheon, malcontents assemble 
there, 199 n. ■ fortified by mob, 
201 ; injuries to, 216 ; see also, 224 

Pavilion Marsan, 3, 56 

Place de la Bastille, Poles to meet 
there, 136 ; parade of malcontents, 
June 25th, 199 n. ; see also, 33, 
100, 214, 215 

Beauvau, 205 

du Carrousel, 10, 18, 25 

de la Concorde, 9, 15 

Lafayette, 200 

Louis XV., 203, 209 

■ Vendome, 96 

Poissoniere (Barracks), 230 

Pont de la Concorde, 136 

Prefecture, 69, 221 

Quai d' Or say, 34 

Rue d' Amsterdam, 24 

d'Astorg, 8 

Basse du Rempart, 8, 23 

de Bourgogne, 155 

de Jerusalem, 221 

Neuve St. Augustin, 80, 144 

de la Paix, 9, 24 

de la P^piniere, vii 

de Ponthieu, 8 

de la Rochefoucauld, 32 

St. Antoine, 215 

St. Honors, 146 

St. Jacques, 204 

Mirom^nil, 92 

Montmartre, 24, 145, 205 

de Rivoli, 108, 190 

St. Gervais (Church), 216 

St. Roch (Church), 14 

Tuileries, invaded and pillaged, ir, 
13, 19, 21, 25, 36, 41, 66, 188 ; 
papers found there, 64; cellars 
turned into prisons, 211 ; see also, 
6, 14, 142 

Vincennes, 48, 181, 208 n., 220, 226 
Paris, Louis Philippe Albert Comte de, 

grandson of Louis Philippe, 9, 13, 70, 

170, 177, 193 
Passy, Hippolyte, author of ' ' Study of 

the Aristocracy, etc.," memoir, 164 

«. ; other notices, 163, 169 
Pastoret, De, 181 
Patterson, Miss, 189 n, 
" Petit homme rouge, Le," 127 
Petitet, Anselm, 246 



INDEX. 



271 



Peupin, 105, 127 

Piedmont, 10 ;;. 

Piscatory, 11 

Placards, 31, 32, 72, 114, 128, 171, 172 

' Plaine,' the, 179, 249 

Poland, Poles, 9, 33, 71, 128, 133, 134, 

136 and n., 137 ;/., 142, 155, 160, 181, 

23s. 251 
Polignac, A. de, 223 
Polignac, Alphonse de, 37 
Polignac, Armand de, 17 
Polignac, Prince Jules de, 4, 37 and «., 

54 «• 
Pope, the, 9 ;/. 

Portalis, Baron de, 133, 135 7;., 161 
Portugal, 65 

Pozzo di Borgo, Count, viii, 16 n., 47 
Press, the, 4, 5, 16, 30, 37 «., 39, 72, 73, 

91, 95, 114, 123, 135 «., 176, 212, 231, 

245. 252 

Proudhon, memoir, author of "What is 
Property ? " 178 and ti. ; Thiers makes 
him explain principles, 233, 244 ; de- 
scription of, 255, 256 

Provisional Government, formed, 5, 
22 n.\ two policies in, 13 and ;/. ; 
proclamation of, 15 ; promises work 
to all, 51, 52 ; sends line regiments 
out of Paris, 52 ; costly, 60, 119, 234 ; 
conspiracy against (March), 68; in- 
genious punishments, 69 ; despotism 
of, 87 ; Comnnmist fraction of (April), 
96, 98; worn out, 129; other notices, 
7 «., 16 ;/., 17, 19, 28 and ;/., 29 
and n., 32 «., 35, 46 ti., 59, 69 «., 
74, 75, 82, III n., 118, 120, 125, 131, 
136 «., 143, 147 ;/., 237, 250, 260 

Prussia, 55, 71, 108, 109 

Prussia, William King of, 108 

Pujol, 199 n. 

Queen, the. See Marie Amelie. 

Rachel, 106 

Radetzky, 195 ;/. 

Raguse, Due de. See Marmont. 

Railways, 19, 116, 156, 164, 194, 197, 

200, 205 
Rambuteau, 19 
Rambuteau, Mme. de, 80 
Rapp, General, 34 
Raspail, edits Ami dit Peuple, 72, 82; 

memoir, 147 «. ; other notices, 144, 

227 
Reculot, De, 55 



Recurt, 15, i6 n., 72, 132, 138, 141', 

219, 226 
Redoete, De la, 53 
Reform Banquets. See Franchise. 
R6musat, Charles de, 7, 56, 131 ;/., 133, 

135 «• 
Revolution of July, 1830, alluded to, 

vii, 6, 20, 27, 119, 138, 200, 238, 248 
Rey, Colonel, 81 
Richter, Jean Paul, 113 
Robinson, Lady Helena E. , mother of 

the writer of the letters, vii, viii, x 
Robinson, Sir Richard, father of the 

writer of the letters, vii 
Roche, 18 
Rokeby, Lord, x 
Rothschild, 48, 60 

Rouen, 20, 112, 169, 175, 179, 181 n. 
Russia, xi, 9, 137 n., \Cj'2, 227 

St. Genies, Gonzague de, 224 

St. Geniez, Adolphe Vicomte de, 8, 12 
and «., 14, 26, 63, 64, 86, 97, 102, 
145, 146, 200, 203, 210, 217, 218, 223 

St. Jean d'Angely, Mme. de, ix 

St. Priest, Mme. de, 33 

St. Simonists, 28 «., 140 //., 156 /;. 

Ste. Aldegonde, Mme. de. See Auge- 
raud, Mme. 

Sala, Colonel, 42 

Saloos, the, 56 

Samoiloff, Mme., 80 

Sand, George, said to influence the 
Government, 94 ; advocates Com- 
munism, is against women's suffrage, 
94 ;/. ; writes in La Vraie Ripuhlique, 
106, 118 ; works for Ledru Rollin, 
106, 113, 122, 129 ; assists on May 
I5tli, 156 ; sympathy with Pierre 
Leroux and Proudhon, 156 and n., 
178 ; her convict Tremmov, 251 

Sandwich, Lady, 21 

Salvandy, 89 

Sarrut, Germain, 133, 135 n. 

Sauzet, II 

Savoyards, 85 

Sebastiani, 41 

S^nard, 180 and «., 219, 243 

Sheridan, the three beauties, ix 

Shops, 8, 9, 17, 24, 41, 49, 79, 93, 203 

Smith, Sydney, ix 

Sobrier, 31, 32 //., 108, 148, 157, 255 

Soci^t^ des Amis du Peuple, 140 ;/. 

des Droits de I'Homme, 88 «., 

124 n. 



272 



INDEX. 



Society des Families, 124 n. 

des Saisons, 124 n. 

Soult, Marshal, viii, 207 
Spain, 26 n., 65 and «., 70, 173 n, 
Stael, Mme. de, 54 n. 
Standishes, the, 56 
Subervie, General, 29 and n. 
Sweden, ix, xi 

Talleyrand, Prince, viii 

Tallien, Mme. See Princess de Chiniay. 

Taxes, before the Great Revolution, i, 
2 ; on newspapers, 39 ; increased, 51, 
61, 78, 100, loi, 106, iig, 148, 238 ; 
on carriages, 107 ; other notices, 16 «., 
46 n,, 135 M., 164 71., 197, 238, 247 

Tempoure, General, 136 

Thayer, Mme., 167 

Thermidor, Notre dame de. See 
Princesse de Chimay. 

Thiers, ' doctrinaire,' 4 ; helps to found 
the National, 26 n. ; sent for by 
Louis Philippe, 50 ; one of the 
Duchesse d'Orl^ans' coterie, 56 ; can- 
didate for the Assembly, 64, no, 
115, 163, 169, 174, 178 ; invents 
strategic plan, June, 210 ; argues 
against Communism, 233, 238, 239, 
244 ; advocates restoration of property 
to Orleans family, 234 ; his life 
attempted, 249 ; other notices, 7, 
134 «., 135 n,, 141, 161, 164 n., 177, 
183 



Thomas, Clement, 143, 147 n., 190, 198 

Thomas, Emile, 158, 182, 186, 212 n. 

Title of ' ouvrier, ' 127, 167, 179 

Titles abolished, 27 

Tracy, De, 6, 84 and 71., 144 

Tr^lat, 141 and «., 159 «., 1941 223 

Tr^zel, 168, 169 n. 

Universal suffrage. See Franchise. 

Valin, Mme. de, 33 
Vaudremont, Princesse de, viii 
Vaudreuil, De, viii 
Vavin, 134, 136 n. 
Very, Mme., 250 
Viardot, 156 n. 
Vicence, Mme. de, ix 
Victoria, Queen, 86, 247 
Villa, 163 
Villars, the, 56 
Villeneuve, de, 130 
Vitrolles, Baron de, viii 
"Voyage en Icarie," by Cabet, 68 n., 
123 

Walpole, ix 

War, rumours of, 9, 42, 74, 75, 80, 

148, 192, 252, 259 
Weill, A., 163, 164 n. 
Wellington, Duke of, vi 
Wolowski, 128 and n. 
Workmen. See Labour. 



THE END. 



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